Save Me
by existencene
Summary: "Trauma doesn't discriminate between such brave and smart souls. He is a victim of it and that's why I requested her. The will of fire within him is silently fading but she has the power to create such roaring flames. His diminishing shadow can only strengthen with the presence of light and with that, they need each other. So I don't want her to save him, I need her to." M in case
1. 1

He stood in the centre of what seemed to be nothing. It could have been that his eyes were closed but rest assured, they were open with his pupils shivering from the cold and fear. A dim light bulb hovered over his head and slowly swayed back and forth, mimicking a hypnotising pendulum swing. With a small look at his hands and chest, he realised that he wore his usual attire and his hair was still shot up in a ponytail that defied gravity. He touched his face, neck and arms to check for anything that might have given him an indication of what happened to him. However, he was clear from cuts and bruises and had not flinched in pain from slightly moving his body; he hadn't encountered physical harm.

To put it simply, nothing had happened to him.

Nothing.

A small step forward led him to discover something quite peculiar. To his left, there were no windows and doors and this was the same for his right. Looking over his shoulder, he realised the dirty red brick wall behind him was bare and was absent from access to the outside.

Shikamaru stood in the centre of a darkened room with no escape.

 _'Where am I? Why am I here?'_

He questioned in his mind, fear that speaking out loud may be unwise. Even so, who would hear him? How would **they** enter the room? How did **he** enter the room? Could it be that he was placed in here and the doors and windows were removed quickly?

No. That can't be! It seemed ridiculous for such thing to happen.

Yet, that didn't mean it **wouldn't** happen.

Doubt and fear began to cloud his judgement, he could agonisingly feel the vibrations that echoed throughout his body as his heart rate increased. All of his senses picked up the same thing. Shikamaru hadn't realised it was possible to smell purely _nothing_ , feel nothing but his heart, and hear absolutely _nothing_ but his breathing elevate. What his senses picked up were either blank or his anxiety that was embedded in his chakra. As the situation did not unravel itself, frustration was next to invade his mind.

He wanted to get out of this place and quickly at that. But how? How could he leave such place?

"Where am I?"  
A thought escaped his lips, only for silence to follow. The young ninja looked around him in hopes of seeing something emerge. It wouldn't have mattered if it was an enemy because it was better than nothing at this rate, anything was.

"Shikamaru."  
His prayers were answered with a soft voice snapping him from his anxiety. He darted his head around him in circles to search for the source of the voice. It sounded familiar but he would need to hear the voice again to know who it was.

"Who's there? Where are you?!"  
A sweat drop began to descend down his right temple. Sharp turns from his eyes, head and body only saw the same carbon copy of each of the 4 walls. Trapped in a brick box, he would have thought each wall had an unique aspect - he was wrong.

"Shikamaru...wake up."

He felt somewhat insulted by the voice, given that he was in a difficult situation without knowing why he was there and yet the voice simply demanded him to 'wake up'? His anger only rose as his hands naturally formed a fist and his jaw began to tighten.

"What do you mean 'wake up'? Who are you, you didn't answer my question!"

Suddenly the light above him began to flicker and the same soft voice echoed in the room. His nails dug into his palm so hard that he finally felt something aside from his beating heart - the smooth trickle of blood into his hands. Eyes up, the light was about to give out at any second. Yet the voice's echo began to get louder and louder, soon leaving the shinobi to fall to his knees and scream as he covered his ears. Such soft voice was surrounded by a venomous atmosphere and wouldn't seem to stop.

"Shikamaru..."

The light died.

"Wake up."

* * *

Shot up and breathing heavily, his eyes opened. He grabbed what seemed to be bed sheets that were beside him and felt the uncomfortable sweat in his back and face. This time, his ears could pick up the sounds of birds chirping melodies and the sound of laughter and idle chat far from him. He could smell the local food nearby him that would undeniably attract vast customers from all over the land, not just to those in his neighbourhood. The tension in his face and body began to relax upon realising that everything was normal, with the grip on his bed sheets softening.

With a heavy breath, he stared at a wall with a wardrobe and desk. Such desk had pictures of his beloved friends and his most loyal teacher, followed by a stack of paperwork that seemed to be completed as indicated by the pen that rested on top. On the edge of the desk sat a tea cup with more pens surrounding it. A microscopic movement from his eye to the right saw his brown door slightly opened to let in the air from the upcoming Summer season. The white walls were surrounded by more pictures of the young shinobi with his parents and friends, and there was a small table in the corner of the room that supported the weight of kunai's. The room seemed to be normal and not a trace of it changed since he last entered the room.

It was just a dream.

So why did it seem real?

A thought sparked in him as he brought his hand to his face, more specifically his palm. There was no sign of physical injury despite the realistic feeling of his blood trickling his hands and the voice was so painfully familiar it aggravated him not knowing who it was.

The confusion only seemed to make him become even more uneasy and confused. But this feeling was put short by the sound of his alarm deafening him.

6 o'clock. Right. He had to get the paperwork to the Hokage for the Shinobi Union reports. There was no time to feel worried over a stupid dream, these sort of dreams only happen once anyway. It was just a bad night and he would get over it by the end of the day.

* * *

"You look uneasy. Is everything alright?"

Kakashi's right eye pondered to Shikamaru whereas the other was covered by his enormous Hokage hat. It seemed that deep inside the young shinobi's eye, it was full of mist, attempting seeking clarity from what was real and what wasn't. The confusion in his eyes hadn't left as he turned his attention towards Kakashi, with his eyebrows slightly elevated.

"Ah, it's nothing really."

"You sure?"

Kakashi's second question put Shikamaru off guard. Nevertheless, he replied.

"I'm sure. I just wanted to give you the paperwork and get back to work really."  
Lying through his teeth, he envied those who had the opportunity to look at clouds whilst he was stuck inside completing endless amount of paperwork. Despite his lies, Kakashi became increasingly concerned.

"Take it easy Shikamaru, I understand your job isn't necessarily the easiest."  
Looking over to a bigger stack of paperwork on his desk, Kakashi felt a huge sweat drop on the back of his head. He hadn't started filling out forms and was not looking forward to.

 _'Although being Hokage isn't exactly fun and easy either.'_

A shrug seemed like an appropriate response to Kakashi. Walking towards the door he turned around and smiled.

"Thanks for the concern anyway."

Closing the door, Kakashi's stern expression hadn't left him. There was no doubt that Shikamaru had a problem and simply ignoring it would worsen his situation. Resting his chin on his hands and closing his eyes, he thought of how to approach the situation, or rather who could approach the situation. After a moment of thought, he reached into his desk and retrieved a small piece of paper. He ran through the names on his contact list until an index finger rested above one name.

"Ah, this person will do."

* * *

 **A/N:** First legitimate story and I have no idea where this will end up going so I'm sorry if things seem unclear.

Thank you very much for reading x


	2. 2

"I apologise for the short notice, but luckily you were still here before you were about to leave and something important came up."

The figure standing opposite Kakashi shook her head and gave a soft smile.

"I can understand the urgency Hokage-sama."

Kakashi let out a silent sigh.

"Please call me Kakashi. 'Hokage-sama' makes me sound and feel old."

Somewhere in Konoha, Tsunade took a sharp turn around her with furrowed eyebrows trying to find out who called her old.

The respondent nodded and apologised before enquiring about the urgency.

"One of my staff members seem to be acting slightly unusual. He wouldn't tell us what was wrong but it wouldn't take an idiot to think twice before knowing that there is something bothering him."

The listener smirked inside. Even someone as slow as Naruto would realise that something was up.

"And this young man is quite...difficult with his feelings let's say. I doubt he would want others to dwell on his issues and is more independent in wanting to solve his problems. But I think his issue is more serious than we think, or will end up being very serious unless we do something about it."

The figure nodded confidently.

"So what would you like me to do?"

Kakashi looked up towards the figure's eyes and smiled behind his mask. He realised that his next words would create a future of confusion and anger, with potential tears and soaring tempers, but it could be empowered by friendship and love that would strengthen each other; Kakashi's mission would awaken their deepest and purest feelings that will make them realise the importance of one another.

With that, he spoke.

* * *

"Hey Shikamaru!"

The shadow user stopped in his tracks and looked up to find a smiling Ino and a gleaming Chouji waving at said user. Behind them, the sun was beginning to descend and hide into the Earth to give a hint of orange and pink in the sky. Shikamaru smiled and nonchalantly walked towards his friends, forming Team 10.

"Hey, Ino and Chouji. It's been a while."

"A while? Chouji and I occasionally run into each other, it's you who we rarely see anymore!"

The female ninja placed her hands on her hips as her hair swayed from the soft breeze. It had grown considerably in length and approached just beneath her waist. How she was able to keep her hair this long, Shikamaru would never know. It just seemed easier to tie up long hair, having it let down seemed too troublesome.

Chouji nodded in agreement.  
"I think the Shinobi Union work is making you too busy Shikamaru. You must always be behind a stack of paper."

"I bet he actually sleeps behind the paper."  
Ino joked.

Shikamaru smiled and slightly laughed. It was true that he was always busy and this would ultimately affect his chances of seeing his friends. A pang of guilt slight struck his chest as he realised they must have missed him as much as he missed them.

"Ah, I'm sorry. The work always just keeps on coming."

Both Ino and Chouji sighed but quickly got over it.

"Well, we're here now and there's Yakiniku-Q behind us! What do you say we enter?"

Chouji had already began drooling and made his way inside before Ino finished her question. Shikamaru could only sigh and smile again, resting one hand to itch his hair and the other in his pocket.

"Might as well for old time sake. Did you bring enough money?"

Ino's eyes widened as Shikamaru also made his way in. A sweat drop enlarged behind her head as she realised she may not even have enough to cover Chouji's portion of food, let alone hers.

 _"There goes a week of work..."_ she pondered.

After the trio settled inside and ordered their food, they began to catch up. Ino spoke of the troubles of working alongside Sakura to learn medical ninjutsu and complained about her bossy ways, but was nevertheless grateful to be working alongside a strong and close friend. Chouji then thought it would be appropriate to mention her relationship with Sai which she waved off with her hand, stating that 'nothing was going on' although her blush had betrayed her words. She retaliated by mentioning Karui and found a blush rise in his cheeks. However, unlike Ino he proudly admitted his fondness of her company and hoped to see her soon. Shikamaru smiled at such situation at the happiness of others whilst hiding his own thoughts. Resting his elbow on the desk, he placed his head on his hand.

His dream still haunted him, especially not knowing the source of the voice. 'Wake up' had such ambiguous meanings that he could think of thousands of concepts and it may not be what the voice had implied.

'Wake up and stop being lazy' was one concept. Although, given his demanding work, he was certain he was currently far from being lazy (although he missed doing nothing).

'Wake up and become a better ninja', how does one become a 'better' ninja? Does that mean strengthening their ninjutsu's? Working on their taijutsu? Nah, that can't be right.

Countless concepts later, he gave up. Dwelling on such a one off dream was irrelevant and he didn't need to waste his time doing so. Who cares if he never experiences that dream again? So what if he doesn't know who the voice is? He could figure it out later when he was alone and had more time to think carefully.

But it may be that he would **never** find out at all.

"Shikamaru?"

The respondent detached from his hand that supported his head.

"Hm?"

"You completely blanked out! You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay Chouji."

Ino eyed him with such intensity it caused Shikamaru to raise his hands to surrender from Ino's stare.

"Don't lie to us Shikamaru, we've known you for years! What's wrong?"

The arrival of food took their attention of Shikamaru which made him sigh softly. Even he became distracted by the view of such delicious food. He wouldn't have wanted to experience Ino's attempt of torturing him into explaining his dream in the middle of a lively, busy restaurant. Such thoughts wouldn't have been appropriate for such a bright atmosphere so he knew he could put his problems aside for now.

After the slight argument between Ino and Chouji over who would take the last piece, the attention towards Shikamaru returned.

"Soooooo Shikamaru, do you have a girl in your life yet?"

He swore he swallowed that small piece of beef without taking a bite. Both friends laughed as he began to choke and attempted to ease his pain by drinking his tea.

"What do you mean?!"  
Kami knows how he still had the ability to speak.

"Everyone has been with someone at some point now Shikamaru! What about you and Temari, she still comes here often doesn't she?"

Next time someone spoke to Shikamaru, he promised he wouldn't be eating so he wouldn't have to choke on his food again.

"Why me?"  
He wheezed.

Ino slapped ('pat' she defended) against his back to help him speak as she continued to smile elegantly. Shikamaru knew he would choke on his food and become a dead man in a matter of moments, mostly due to the force of Ino's hand against his back.

"Come on, you both work together often so there must be a little 'something' going on right?"  
The 'something' made her raise her eyebrow up and down before she began to laugh at the mixture of terror and uncertainty on his face. The male began to defend himself.

"She's only here twice a month and our relationship is work based. Besides, she's scary and I doubt I'd see myself with her. Women are troublesome..."  
The young man scoffed before resuming his food, eating rather quickly in case someone would say something shocking to him.

Ino shook her head, ignoring the slight insult at the end of Shikamaru's sentence. She resumed looking at her food as she waited for it to be cooked and the corner of her lips gently moved upwards as she gave a slight chuckle.

 _"I guess he still hasn't realised. Men are clueless."_

"Oh well. Let's just eat shall we?"

Chouji was an expert of being one step ahead of Ino before she completed her sentences.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you're enjoying it so far even if it's slow x


	3. 3

The kunoichi walked along the streets of Konoha on a warm Friday evening. The orange colour in the sky became harsher and was soon to be enveloped by the colour of navy, with small white diamonds scattered across the sky. As clouds were beginning to disappear, she appreciated the beautiful scenery above her. Although this was no different to what she saw back in her hometown, the trees beneath the sky seemed to create the complete frame of the evening.

Yes, it was the trees that were able to provide that perfect picture.

Continuing to walk, her senses heightened at the smell of dango. Turning to her right, she was astonished by the emptiness of such an underrated shop. However on such hectic evenings like these, maybe an empty and peaceful shop was what she needed.

She had a very busy week and it would only get busier. Maybe it was okay for her to grab a small snack.

* * *

"Thank you for the meal!"

Team 10 exclaimed as they left the shop, with a satisfied sigh escaping Chouji's lips. Sure, both Ino and Shikamaru now lacked money but they would rather see Chouji at his happiest. Money wasn't everything.

"Right! Where shall we eat next?"

A sweat drop popped up behind the two astonished ninjas.  
"Chouji how can you still eat? I'm completely full and I've hardly had any in comparison to the both of you!"

She paused before smiling. Why was Ino still surprised when she knew him for so long? It seemed that Chouji's eating habits always remained the way it did since the formation of the team. Chouji pulled an innocent grin while he itched his hair.

"I just can eat right about anything right now! Shikamaru, what do you say?"

The second pang of guilt struck his chest.

"Ah, sorry Chouji but I think I'll pass. I don't have enough on me right now but I can meet you two again soon?"

Ino put her hands on her hips and was on her tip toes to Shikamaru. With a sharp finger she poked him in the chest.

"You better see us soon okay? You have to take it easy and not get swallowed up by work. We've missed you a lot Shikamaru and we wouldn't want to not see you again for months."  
Every sentence meant a poke to his chest. Ino's concern was agreed by a nodding Chouji.

"She's right. We haven't seen you in a long time and I missed moments like these! We always used to go inside Yakiniku-Q and talking about anything. At least promise to see us as soon as you can."

Shikamaru's elevated shoulders relaxed as he sighed with closed eyes. Opening them, he nodded at his companions.

"Sorry I've hardly seen you two at all. I promise to make plans when I have the time."

Ino's finger was removed from Shikamaru's chest as she hugged him, squeezing the life out of him.

"Damn right you will! And you tell us what happens between you and Temari okay?!"

Hasn't Shikamaru already suffered enough with his choking, let alone not being able to breathe from Ino's hugs? Speaking of which, her hugs seem to be getting tighter and tighter for every encounter they had. Chouji joined in on the hug, laughing and reflecting on the good times before Shikamaru's face turned a hint of purple.

 _"Why are my friends so troublesome?"_

* * *

Sitting on the bench nearby the entrance of the shop, she rested her hands on her thighs and closed her eyes. The last bite of her delicious dango left a sweet aftertaste in her mouth and the slight breeze relaxed the Kunoichi. If she wasn't careful enough, she would sleep on the bench and would be at risk of having her belongings stolen. Although given the tessen that lied behind her, anyone that dared themselves to approach Temari to harm her would only be blown away in multiple directions without her breaking a single sweat.

Hence why the young male that approached and stood over such kunoichi was one of the most bravest men in Konoha.

"Temari?"

A pair of teal eyes looked at the figure opposite her. Her arms were now crossed and she gave a slight smirk.

"Well, if it isn't Shikamaru? Shouldn't you be looking at clouds?"

Hands in his pocket, he let out a little 'tch'.

"I'm too busy to do that nowadays woman."

"And yet you talk to me."

"What, would you rather me not be polite and not greet you?"

"Saying my name isn't necessarily a greeting Shikamaru."

Her smirk only enlarged by the evident frustration that grew in Shikamaru's face, she would be lying if she said she didn't like seeing him become slightly frustrated. He gave a small annoyed glare with his scrunched up nose and tightened jaw.

"Shouldn't you be on your way back to Suna? The meeting ended hours ago."

Standing up, she wiped off any excess traces of dango on her skirt before placing the tessen behind her back. Approaching Shikamaru, she placed her hands on her lips and tilted her head slightly to the right. His height didn't intimidate the kunoichi. In fact, Shikamaru himself felt intimidated by how a woman smaller than him was able to cause catastrophic consequences from waving her tessen whilst leading countless amount of ninjas into victory from battle. A tiny part of him felt him weakening at the sight of her glimmering eyes that had endured pain and anguish from her childhood, only to emerge as a fearless but frightening jonin.

"I have a long term mission at the Hokage building and I've been told to stay in Konoha for quite a while. I suppose it will be interesting to be in Konoha longer than 3 days for the Shinobi meetings."

"How long is quite a while?"  
The male raised his eyebrow, not quite liking the sound of where this was headed.

"However long it needs to be as deemed by the Hoka- Kakashi-san."

Oh he **really** didn't like the sound of this.

"That could range from 1 week to 1 month. Or even a year."

"Mm, perhaps."  
Temari wondered how long the mission would take. If it took as long as one month (which was likely to be the minimum length), she would have to arrange days to return to Suna and collect more of her belongings. What she had wouldn't last for as long as one month. Luckily, Kakashi would pay her a sufficient amount of money for every 3 days she was in Konoha to provide her food and to pay for the inn she stayed at. Until then, she would work alongside Shikamaru to complete the paperwork in the Hokage building and go on missions as a cover up from the real mission. If the paperwork was as bad as Shikamaru complained about, she doubt she'd enjoy her temporary job in Konoha until the end of her mission (however long that would take).

The pair naturally began to walk forward, not necessarily going anywhere in particular. The sun was no longer in sight and the moon greeted the pair, along with the flickering of street lamps and the singing owls. Konoha was still buzzing with life as various people of various ages laughed and smiled, with couples entering restaurants and middle aged workers entering bars and ramen stools, possibly to drink the night away. The people of Suna were more reserved, therefore the different atmosphere around Temari would intrigue her every now and then.

"And? Do you have a place to stay?"

Temari's eyes widened upon the realisation of his words but she nodded.

"I'm staying at an inn but I'll need to tell the owner I'll be staying longer than I thought. Otherwise I think she'll kick me out tomorrow morning when I should have left Konoha by then."

Her little situation left a recurring thought to run in Shikamaru's head. She had a place to stay but inns in Konoha weren't exactly the cheapest. Similarly, the inn she'd always stay at was quite the distance from the Hokage building. Despite knowing how she was no where near as lazy as him, getting up earlier than the sunrise for 'quite a while' to get to the Hokage building would surely annoy her at one point. A final sigh meant that he would possibly regret his next words. However he could almost feel his mother shouting at him for days on end if he didn't say such words. Even thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine.

"If you want to save money and trouble, I have a spare room in my apartment."

The kunoichi paused in her tracks to look at Shikamaru with an unchanged expression. She wasn't sure she heard him correctly but her ears would never deceive her.

"Is that so?"

He hadn't realised she stopped walking until he felt the absence of her figure next to him. The male turned to look at her but the regret sank in quicker than he anticipated.

"It's only a suggestion. You don't have to say yes."  
He quickly defended himself whilst his hands dug deeper into his pockets.

The livelihood in the air from the Konoha evening was too weak to overcome the awkward air that rose between the silent pair. At this point, Shikamaru's regret was at its peak level and he wanted to escape the situation. How could it be that Temari mimicked a statue? Not a single movement emerged from her and a small part of him concluded that she must have somehow died standing. It felt like years until said kunoichi blinked and placed her hand on her chin to consider his request, but this only baffled him more. Surely she's made up her mind by now?

Sigh, he wouldn't know what went through her mind whatsoever, no matter how hard he thought.

"Okay."

Silence returned. Did she just say something?

"Okay what?"

Her hand left her chin as it rested on her hips.

"Okay, I'll accept your spare room."

To say he felt surprised was an understatement. He hadn't considered her to say yes nor to say no; he wasn't expecting a response at all. A minute ago, he didn't mind her company in the warm, pleasant evening and now he was going to live with the very woman who shook him to his core? He began to stutter.

"Oh er, right yeah. The room. Sure yeah, you can stay."

A smirk grew on Temari's lips with her eyebrows raised. Shikamaru knew very well she was entertained by his response and would most likely hold his stuttering response against him. Damn this woman.

"You seem to be hesitant Nara. Are you sure about this?"  
With an elevated eyebrow, the smirk stuck to her face as he stuttered even more. It took quite a bit of energy for her to not laugh out loud whereas the figure opposite her wanted to crawl and hide in a corner to escape such a humiliating situation.

"It was an offer and you accepted it. So it's fine Temari. You won't have to waste money on the inn at least."  
Looking away from her, his eyes glanced over the civilians of Konoha smiling and laughing with the company of others. Why couldn't his evening be less troublesome and more relaxing? It was too dark to now look at the clouds and he could have played shogi with someone, somehow. Instead he was with **her**.

Being with her wasn't always relaxing now was it?

"You make a convincing point. Fine, I'll retrieve my things seeing as we have nothing better to do. Let's go."  
A sharp turn on her heels meant they would walk back towards where they met in the evening and walk possibly a bit further. The evening took such a drastic turn, Shikamaru thought. With a heavy sigh he looked towards the ground. The duration of her stay was still unknown so he could be forced to put up with her for a very, very, very long time.

 _'_ _And you tell us what happens between you and Temari okay?!'  
_ Ino's tease towards the pair repeated in his head from Yakiniku-Q. For a genius, he wouldn't know why Ino's voice emerged in his head.

"Let's go crybaby!"

The black haired ninja snapped out of his mind with his head shot up. An annoyed look was formed on his face as Temari's figure walked further and further away from him.

 _'Women'_ he thought.

"Wait up!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey y'all, thanks for reading up this point even if it's just the 3rd chapter.

I would also greatly appreciate it if you could leave reviews on this story and tell me what I should and shouldn't do seeing as my writing is still a bit rusty (I haven't written a piece in years so some bits may be edited/deleted to make it an overall better story)

Thank you!


	4. 4

For a tourist, he was impressed by her knowledge of shortcuts .She led him away from the main streets of Konoha and towards serene pathways that took him to the inn she stayed at. Although it felt like eternity when she was dragging him around. Many complaints later, the pair were at the front entrance of his apartment. This location was nearby was the Hokage's building, another incentive of staying at his home in comparison to the inn. Plus, the local markets that resided near his home would probably attract Temari often such that she wouldn't always be in his house. Now **that** was a plus for Shikamaru; he would have the small glimpse of peace he removed from his life the moment he ran into Temari that evening.

He knelt down to grab a key hidden underneath his welcome mat, only to be criticised by the kunoichi.

"You lost your key? I thought you were smarter than that Shikamaru."

Straightening his legs, he towered over her and let out a 'tch' before unlocking the door.

"I do have a spare key in my pocket Temari. I figured you wouldn't want a dirty key that's been underneath the mattress since I moved in here."

He didn't care for her response as suggested by his urgency of swinging the door open and entering inside rather too quickly. Although he did wish he turned around to see Temari's faint surprise on her face.

"Tch."  
Temari's attempt to mimic Shikamaru led him to smirk.

The tessen user grabbed her belongings and followed Shikamaru down the corridor to what seemed to be the guest room. Given that the room at the far end of the corridor was bright and had no doors, she assumed for it to be the living room. After all, most living rooms in Konoha seemed to not have a door for some peculiar reason. However the young male stood by the entrance of the middle room, waiting for the kunoichi. Upon standing next to him she looked inside her temporary room. The bed lied in the corner with a window as almost as wide as the room, perpendicular to the bed. Her favourite colour matched the violet, transparent curtain that hung from the edge of the window, giving a thin purple light onto the wooden floorboard. Parallel to the bed was a bare desk and chair that had been collecting dust, followed by a wooden wardrobe that was opposite to the desk. Temari couldn't help but wonder how the room seemed very lonely and was beautiful despite its simplicity. It must have been a long time since someone stayed in this room.

"Has anyone ever stayed in here before?"

"No, you're the first."  
A slight surprise deemed to be her appropriate response. He felt inclined to continue speaking.

"Since the war ended and Kakashi became the Hokage, conflict was no longer the issue. Everyone began to change in hopes to keep the peace we finally obtained and so I decided to have my own place. My mum was too scary to still live with and I'm now old enough to have my own apartment. The extra room was just in case someone needed to stay here for a night or some time, I don't care about the rent." Shikamaru breathed.

She mumbled an "ah I see."

He turned away from Temari to walk towards the living room.  
"Well, you can do whatever you want with the room. You may have to clean it up a bit so sorry about that."

The kunoichi's attention leapt towards the shadow boy's back as she rotated from her spot.

"I respect this a lot Shikamaru. Thank you."  
Such kind words from a ruthless woman caused him to stop walking. He looked over his shoulder to vaguely smile.

"It's nothing."  
His modesty was a quality Temari liked. Many people wouldn't know about his high IQ unless they were informed by others such as Ino or Chouji; he would never brag about it. She believed that Shikamaru would be appropriate as the seventh Hokage but knew he would never accept such a job because it was 'too troublesome'. At least his intelligence was put in good use during the Shinobi Union meetings where discussions to sustain peace in the ninja world were his forte. He was more than just a lazy person because he worked to create a better future for the benefit of those around him, not himself. It was that quality that earned Temari's respect for him.

"Anyway, do what you want for now."

Disappearing into the living room, Temari was left standing in front of her new room. She placed her belongings in the centre of the room and glanced at her surroundings.

Now all she had to do was unpack.

* * *

He was back here again. He was back in the exact same place, same position, with the same walls, same light. It was like he never left at all. Because of that it - quite frankly - pissed him off. The anxiety and fear that accompanied him the first time was now a distant memory for he welcomed anger as his new companion. The last time he spoke, someone spoke back and the dream abruptly ended. So he was going to take his time and really focus on his surroundings, even if he was just in a brick box.

Walking towards the wall, he placed his hand upon it. Each and every brick he traced his hands over shared the same smooth texture and same warmth. He took a step back and shook his head. There was nothing that the wall could tell him. Approaching the wall to his left, he touched it and shock pushed his anger aside. Microscopic parts of the bricks gently fell to the ground in the form of ash and the smell of smoke seized his nose. Alarms went off in his head and he took a step back. It couldn't possibly be...?

The cackles of fire weren't heard. How does one smell smoke without hearing a fire awakening?

A sense of hurry picked up in him and he jogged to the wall on the other side. It had the same soft texture as the first wall except it was so cold and numbing that it almost hurt to touch it. The frosty feeling from the wall left a burning sensation on his left fingertips. Finally, he ran to the last wall to touch it and this time he felt the cold air radiating from the bricks as it slithered on his skin. Goosebumps conquered his body and the hairs on the back of his neck were raised.

Two of the walls were warm and the other two were cold. Of the two warm walls, one was smooth and the other was ashy. Whereas of the two cold walls, they both had the same texture but one was significantly colder than the other.

Shikamaru evaluated his analysis of each wall before becoming frustrated by his lack of conclusion. Perhaps it was time to make the situation all the more puzzling.

"Where am I?"  
The words remained in a whisper. Waiting for someone to speak to him, he closed his eyes.

Nothing.

Why?

"Where am I?"  
He asked no one in particular.

Quiet.

He smiled in embarrassment. Of course it was too quiet. That's exactly what it was.

Turning around, he approached the centre of the room and looked up at the dim light bulb. It hadn't swayed frantically unlike last time but was motionless instead. If the voice wasn't going to speak to him, he was going to summon it. And if the voice hadn't spoke by the time the light bulb died out, it wouldn't have mattered.

His hand reached up towards the dim light bulb but he was taken back by the feeling of the cold from the bulb. Maybe he was just overthinking the temperature of his surroundings. Shaking off his thoughts, he proceeded to unscrew the light bulb.

"Shikamaru."  
Pause.

He removed his hand from the source of light.

The voice was still as soft as last time and this time he recognised it. It felt so life like, as if he stood right next to him.

An enormous weight crawled into his chest and he shot his head towards the ground. The memories of his last request replayed in his mind, and how he smoked his last cigarette for him. To preserve his legacy he adopted smoking even if it would burn him away inside. Having degraded lungs was a sacrifice he wouldn't care about because it would make up for his lacking atmosphere. So why now? Why here?

"Asuma. Where am I?"  
There was hesitation. The idea of talking to someone whose death he had accepted years and years ago made him feel uncomfortable, especially in a place such as his dreams.

"Wake up."  
Asuma's voice was more stern. It seemed that his voice purposely shook off any dialogue from Shikamaru and was forced to repeat the same two words. The shadow user's back straightened upon his request. At that moment, he relaxed his eyes and tried to hide the depression in his face.

"From what?"

Flickering lights were the last thing he wanted. Please. Not now. Not at this moment. Not when he just found out it was the voice of a teacher who had meant more than words could describe. Parallel to the first dream, words began to echo in the room and were drenched with poisonous tones. What was different was Shikamaru's response, for he did not fall to his knees and cover his ears like a young child. Like the soldier he was at heart, he stood still and suffered through the petrifying voices and the crawling of his skin.

But the last thing he saw before the light died made him awaken his inner child as he woke up screaming.

* * *

The golden haired kunoichi woke to the sound of a scream from the next room. The clock on the desk blinked 3:37 am but it was still comfortably warm. Groaning as she sat up, a sequence of heavy breathing also came from the room. An inspection of her surroundings reminded her that she was now at Shikamaru's apartment rather than the inn. But for a character like him to panic, she thought that was very unusual. Beginning to worry, she ghostly walked towards the door and to the neighbouring room. The door was slightly open and the heavy breathing was far from ending. She couldn't imagine what sort of nightmare he must have had. Her hand shook slightly for she felt the same fear in her heart back when Gaara was incredibly unstable and would threaten to kill his siblings without mercy. Of course, this situation couldn't be as bad as back then but her anxiety said otherwise.

"Shikamaru?"

A gentle push of the door led her to see the disturbed figure with his face dug into his hands. His back moved upwards and downwards as an attempt to control his difficult breathing, but soon stopped. The sweat that trickled down his neck glistened in the light from the transparent curtain. The kunoichi would not approach him until his hands unravelled his face and he would turn to look at her; she knew better than to just approach him and physically comfort him. She breathed in the agitated air from his room and would patiently wait for him to finally relax, she had all night at least. Moments would pass by before Shikamaru's breathing became more controlled with his hands still enveloping his face. Sitting in agony wouldn't help his mental well being. So Temari spoke again.

"Shikamaru. Look at me."

It was with a heavy heart that he steadily removed his hands from his face and turned to look at an almost unrecognisable person. Her right hand held onto the door whereas the other parts of her body glowed in the light from the glistening moon behind the curtains. Her black kimono would create a shape from her captivating curves, but her revealing nightgown would accentuate her thin waist and her wide hips. The moon was no match for her sun-kissed skin and her aquamarine eyes were envied by the goddesses of the ocean. However, it was not her attractive body, skin or eyes that Shikamaru would be surprised by, but by the absence of hairbands that divided her hair into four ponytails. The length of her hair reached below her exposed collarbone and as the daughter of the fourth Kazekage, her hair had duplicated the colour of his golden sand.

"Temari?"  
Uncertainty clouded his judgement for he still had no idea if the woman he spoke to was Temari herself.

"I heard you scream."  
She could almost hear him wince at her words.

With a deep breath, he lied.  
"It was nothing. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"No one wakes up from a dream screaming and says its nothing Shikamaru."  
It was never too early for Temari to speak the truth, even if it wasn't what Shikamaru wanted to hear.

"It...it just wasn't a good dream. There's nothing else to it Temari."  
Guilt dripped down his back from his last sentence. Explaining it to her wouldn't be complicated, by **why** he had these dreams were beyond him. The dream was puzzling at first, but Shikamaru had already understood how parts of it worked. Unfortunately, the last image he saw was beyond disturbing and was unanticipated. Even thinking about it made his heart pound in his chest and his hands wipe the sweat of his face as he looked away from the her. It was a shame he couldn't appreciate how mesmerising she was in that moment for he had too many thoughts in his head. The shadow user heard her sigh as he stared at the thin air opposite him.

Seeing him suffer left an indescribable feeling in Temari's heart. It wasn't like him to act this way but she knew he didn't want to be bothered and wanted to be alone. She nodded and closed her eyes before she looked away from him.

"I understand."

Closing the doors, she gave a final look at him.

"Good night."  
He nodded at her words before she left the door slightly open and returned to her room.

 _Kakashi was right. Something is wrong. Really wrong._

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm so scared of getting out of character I hope I'm not doing a terrible job


	5. 5

A yawn left his mouth when he glanced at the mountains of paper. Every day, the height of the paperwork would increase bit by bit and his eyes would become tired just by looking at it. Unfortunately paperwork didn't complete itself and these documents were crucial in helping Kakashi improve the quality and standard of life in Konoha. The grey-haired male's job was intense enough, Shikamaru had to help him out as much as he physically and mentally could.

"Tired huh?"

It was a relief to focus on something other than the stack of paper when he turned to see Temari on his right. They currently sat in Shikamaru's office where he contemplated sleeping on his table that gave him a perfect view of every corner in the room, with a broad window behind him and a narrow, brown door staring back at him. Whereas she sat on a table perpendicular to his and had a vast collection of books behind her. It was strange knowing the book shelf was there mostly for presentation because he hadn't recalled reading any of the books that stuck against the wall. Then again, has anyone?

He replied to her statement with a long sigh.

"So what is your 'long term' mission? You can't look at our reports on ways to solve situations in Konoha when you've been living in Suna all this time, you don't know about our current problems. And it's been a while since we've received mission requests from clients."  
There was no point in mentioning the previous evening. It was the past and they were currently in the present, having to complete such ridiculous amounts of work.

"You thought wrong Shikamaru, a client from Iwagakure requested a mission. I have to look over the mission outline and create a plan within 2 days. So it looks like **you** have the boring job of filling out documents whereas I'm going to go out in the open."

The last sentence overflowed with great tease as Temari smirked at Shikamaru's irritation. She only had to stay in the office for one day before she would train tomorrow and then go off to wherever she needed to go? All whilst he'd be swallowed up by endless amounts of paper? Tch.

"Troublesome woman."  
A murmur left his lips. Perhaps it was easier to just focus on his work. It was a good thing he didn't see her smirk grow, otherwise 'frustrated' wouldn't come close to how he would feel.

"What's wrong huh? Sick of being indoors all day?"  
His work would never finish if this woman kept on being annoying. The two individuals had polar opposite emotions in their eyes as it locked with one another.

"Your pity isn't necessary Temari."

"So you don't mind being locked away in here?"

"I'm not 'locked away', I choose to take my time when I work."  
His right hand disproved his words as it attempted to fill out a report he hadn't even read through properly. She chuckled to herself and broke their eye contact to look back on her mission outline planted on her desk.

"You can lie to yourself all you want Shikamaru but it's not always healthy to stay inside to work. Remember that the world is bigger than you think and there's more to it than just sitting at a desk, attending meetings and denying missions just to avoid the trouble of having to catch up on other paperwork."  
Of course, Temari did the exact same things as Shikamaru as Suna's representative of the Shinobi Union. The only difference: she would never deny missions. Saying no to her important duties were against her morals and for every successful mission, she would covertly take little pleasure from it. Failing missions was rare but on those difficult days when it happened, it happened devastatingly. Being the main reason of the death of another ninja would burden her on her dark, demeaning days and support from her fellow ninjas would enter one ear and out in the other. A fake smile would suffice just so others around her knew she was fine. But on the days where she was completely alone and she realised her mistakes for herself, she'd conclude that it was just simply the way of life. So for every mission she took, she would promise to never repeat the same mistakes again and she would become the better ninja she knew she could be.

It was in her stubborn nature to accept every mission no matter how intense it could become. If fighting in the great Shinobi war was her greatest achievement, S class missions would be nothing in comparison.

However it seemed that Shikamaru just didn't see it the same way as she did.

"I know that there a lot of opportunities for me outside this room but I choose to stay here. Sometimes I prefer the easier option and this happens to be one example."  
Both ninjas had very different upbringings which affected their perspective towards life. Because of this, the pair would forget why they each had such differing opinions.

She shook her head.  
"I guess there is no point convincing you."

"Exactly. There is n-, wait convince me to do what?"

 _There we go._

"Kakashi-san told me the jonin I was supposed to work with on this mission had to back out due to a leg injury. I'm free to go alone but perhaps bringing you would have been a refreshing change from this atmosphere."

His eyebrows and neck slightly rose at her words but he was still quiet.

"But, you said yourself you choose to stay here. I'll go by myself seeing as I don't know many people around here and I can take care of myself."  
Her hands were raised from her last sentence before she brought it back to the table, where her nails tapped against the edge of the wooden surface. This woman was more cunning than people expected; she was a silent threat.

"Hold on I never said I didn't like taking missions."

The tapping stopped and she recovered the eye contact with a raised eyebrow. For anyone that told her there was a hint of excitement in her eyes, she'd hit them with her tessen.

"So you'd like to accept this mission?"

If this is what she had in mind, Shikamaru felt stupid plummeting into her trap. Whatever plan of hers, he fell face first with a broken nose and a loss of dignity. Temari controlled Shikamaru with the tip of her fingers and he knew it. Yet, he'd let it happen without a second thought. Stuttering seemed to become a new habit of his when he was dumbfounded by the evil woman's words.

A sigh indicated his response. That was all he ever seemed to do nowadays around Temari: sigh and stutter. This led to said woman to grab her mission outline and slam it on his desk with such brute force, it was a miracle that the table didn't crack. The shadow boy's spine shot up as she leaned so dangerously close to him their noses were only a few centimetres apart and he could feel her slow breathing create goosebumps on his skin.

"Get reading Shikamaru, this mission isn't an easy one."

* * *

Shades of light blue painted the sky with floating, fluffy lines of white clouds. June was fast approaching and this had meant longer days. Back during the winter, the Sun would descend at around 4 in the afternoon but in the summer, the Sun remained vibrant for an additional 3 to 4 hours.

How troublesome he thought, he'd have to train for a longer period of time in the Summer.

Especially with the devil's masterpiece **herself**.

The two stood in the middle of a deserted training ground outside the main gates of Konoha. In all his years of living, he hadn't known of such an abandoned area as well as she did. How did a tourist like her know more about different places in Konoha than he did, a villager? The area was made up of yellow, dried up ground but was surrounded by the healthy, green grass and trees. Small pebbles and microscopic fishes lied in the stagnant pond behind him, with the waters mirroring the canvas of the sky. Finally, three vertical logs stuck rose from the dead ground, with dents dug into them from the punches, kicks, kunai's and shuriken's of ninjas'.

"Alright. Listen up."

Despite her leadership side, Shikamaru wasn't bothered by her tone of voice; he had become more than accustomed to it. The lazy boy within him meant that he stood with a slouched back with hands in pockets and his trademark bored look.

"Yeah yeah, what?"

Being irritated didn't seem to be the right word to describe it but being pissed off seemed more accurate. Nevertheless, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was annoyed. She continued with a straight face.

"Our target is specialised in genjutsu and has extraordinary abilities in ninjutsu. It's important that we don't fall for his traps. Most of the ninjas that have come across him have required specialised mental treatment ever since. They don't seem to know that it's just a genjutsu and they're still unable to escape what they had seen."

He hadn't showed signs of intimidation but Shikamaru knew that the enemy wasn't a force to take lightly. If he were to be careless like Naruto, he'd charge straight for his enemy and be under his illusion immediately. However, the pair were strategically smarter than that.

Smarter than most ordinary ninjas.

"But, he has a weakness in taijutsu."

Throwing her tessen to the side, Shikamaru had less than a nanosecond to divert his attention from the clouds towards the oncoming Temari with a kunai in her hand. He snatched the kunai from his pocket and clashed it against hers for defence, forming his first sweat drop already. He jumped back and formed two fists in a protective stance, he would refuse to become out of breath so quickly.

"Temari! What was that?!"

A chuckle escaped her lips. Her left hand rested on her hips whereas her right effortlessly spun the kunai, creating a miniature hurricane.

"You're also weak in taijutsu Shikamaru, that's why you're a long distance ninja. And that's what we're going to be focusing on today. I wouldn't be surprised if you both matched in taijutsu ability because that's how bad you two are. You need to be stronger than him in at least one aspect if he conquers you in terms of genjutsu and perhaps ninjutsu."

Her accurate analysis of Shikamaru's ninja skills would have annoyed him if it weren't true. Both of them were long distance ninjas but as Temari's rank of jonin, her combat skills were of the very best of the best. Kami, she would probably be able to win a fight with other jonins' with a tiny pebble if she were incredibly desperate. The day he would see such a thing, the world would end as he know it.

"Tch, still. That gives you no reason t-"

Another kunai thrown to his face cut his words short. A sharp dash to his right meant he successfully avoided being sliced in the face but only just. The kunai was thrown with such speed that he hadn't heard it pass by his ear until it splashed into the pond.

"Woman, let me speak!"

He shouted through quick breaths.

"You have to keep up, you're too slow!"  
She snatched another kunai from her pocket and she charged towards him with great focus. Every contact between their kunai's created a deafening 'clank' noise with sparks flying in multiple directions. Her attacks began to overpower his defence and he evidently struggled to keep up.

 _Now!_

An opening led her to kick his unprotected stomach with both her feet as she performed a backward somersault whilst Shikamaru lost his balance and flew into the pond. If he were a real enemy, Temari would have ended him already by throwing a kunai at his head whilst he was underwater. However, the little mercy she had stopped her from doing so and she gave a bored posture.

Last time she was this uninterested was during her Chuunin exams many years ago against Tenten. Her opponents were more than just unimpressive so she'd never refer to them as 'fights' when they were purely one sided victories. That unforunately included her match against Shikamaru where despite how she had technically won, he remained the unspoken, true victor.

A strain left his mouth as he sat up from the water, shivering from the cold pond. It had been too late for him to stand on the water using his chakra when he embarrassingly crashed into water. Wanting to give up, he continue to sit with his eyes gazed upwards towards the mesmerising sky and its bubbly clouds. Never mind the water trickling down his skin or the crazy, ruthless woman opposite him, he just wanted to appreciate the sight above him.

"Shikamaru! Get up and stop looking at the clouds!"

Of course, life wasn't always fair especially if Temari was there.

"Woman, we've established that my taijutsu isn't good at all. So wh-"

"No excuses! Get up **now**." An animalistic growl purred on her last word and Shikamaru knew he had no choice. The growl shared the same resemblance as his mother's, so he naturally conformed to her command and stood up less than happily from the pond. He did the walk of shame towards Temari until he stood right in front of her, looking down at her with a less than bothered look.

"Get out your kunai."

"It's in the pond somewhere because of your kick."

"I said no excuses!"

"I don't know where it is."

Eye twitch. If looks could kill, he would have died a hundred times just from her alone.

"Fine. No more kunai's."

A swift but fierce kick towards his head was stopped by his arms. It was without a doubt that her kick would have broken his neck if it weren't for his spread out legs providing him balance and control.

"Just legs and arms," she smirked.

Retreating her right leg, her left arm charged to punch his chest but it was dodged by his left arm. Once again, his chest was exposed to another attack but he jumped backwards before Temari had a chance to strike. A defence stance remained rigid on the shadow boy for he refused to take any risks, let alone with her. Standing straight with her legs together and arms crossed, she smirked.

"See? You're already learning but you need to work on your openings. Jumping backwards all the time won't help, you'll have to be the attacker and turn me into the defender. That'll create more opportunities for you to strike me when my guard is down."

As much as he hated her outburst of attacks, her effective training made a lot of sense. She knew his weaknesses as well as Asuma did and knew what parts of his taijutsu to work on the most. It was only through practice and repetition would he quickly learn to improve in order to overcome his target enemy. He was no Rock Lee of course, but he was determined to be as good as he could possibly be.

Temari returned to her attack stance with her left knee bent forward and her two hands raised to form delicate fists.

"Unless you're able to land a single hit on me," she challenged him with the corners of her mouth rising.

The sun would view Shikamaru's progress in taijutsu as it descended towards the earth to mark the end of the day. The strong-willed pair had the determination to not be the first to give up. Sequences of kicks and punches would become faster and stronger, followed by traces of sweat and breathlessness. Temari was secretly impressed by Shikamaru's quick learning and movements that would surely overpower hers one day. But she would never admit that openly of course, you'd have to kill her for that information. Left, right, she rushed to avoid his punches. Her energy was declining drastically whilst his only seemed to be increasing from the adrenaline. Bruises would form the next day from both of her arms pausing his forceful kicks. But that proved to be a bad move, she left her chest open to attack.

 _There!_

An act of impulse shot his right fist towards the collar of her kimono, putting her challenge to rest. Pain radiated from her chest to the rest of her body with a slight gasp hung in the air. Against the odds of Kami, she hadn't fallen backwards. Another act of impulse forced her left hand to grab his right wrist and tighten them before her next attack. Dark looks invaded their faces as they stared at each other. Temari knew as part of a training session, ninjas were supposed to land strikes on each other. Pain was inevitable during training. However that didn't explain the growing anger in her heart, for the indestructible kunoichi was hit by a man who was no less better than any other ninja in taijutsu in a matter of hours.

Before she could dream of punching and breaking his jaw, his fist turned to grab hold of her collar and he forcefully threw her to the ground with a slam. The pain on her back was indescribable but the growl on her face stayed put. The figure above her balanced himself with his left hand, inches away from her cheek. The hold on her collar remained rigid and their eyes locked with great intensity. Shikamaru was bombarded with emotions of seeing Temari under his control. A mixture of glory, anger, frustration, fatigue, being captivated.

Forget the last thought.

The impacts of their training hit them both as they panted and lactic acid spread throughout their body, to the very tips of their fingers and toes. Sweat trickled down her forehead and his neck but their eyes hadn't blinked. Looking at the figure above her, he seemed to have won against their fight once again. That meant that she had lost not once, but twice. They had unfinished business and she knew that she would take him down one day. Oh, Temari knew she would overcome his strategic plans on the battle field and show off impressive taijutsu he hadn't known about. One day, she would win and she would **relish** in it.

But no one would know that she forced herself to deny the inner part of her that felt ecstatic for him, she had to be angry at him for winning. Beyond her control, the inner part grew to invade her emotions. He had come such a long way in such a short amount of time and she thoroughly enjoyed sparring with him. The determination he had eradicated her boredom from earlier, intriguing her to fight him, tease him, tempt him to come after her. She secretly liked luring him in with her index finger so his jaw would tense and his black eyes would shake with fury and power, all before he ran towards her and became the attacker. Shikamaru had improved drastically and now there they were. He covered her view of the sky with his face millimetres away from hers. Temari's growl softened for moments and her lips formed a tender straight line. His face mimicked hers. They both shared the relaxed eyes, soft straight lips and slowly fading breaths.

"You let down your guard at that moment."

"I know," she lied. It only took his words to realise it.

Continuing to stare at each other, the air began to change. They would both argue that it was because of the drop in temperature from the approaching evening. There was something beautiful about the kunoichi, with her ragged and ripped kimono with sweat on her porcelain skin and her pupils trembling. The same could have been said with the ninja's loose, wet, jet black hair, with subtle traces of dirt stuck to his cheeks and arms. In their own, tired, weak way, they appreciated each other.

Her fingers began to trace above his left arm to rest on his shoulder. Shikamaru's warm skin abruptly began to feel raw and cold. It was definitely because of the weather, no other explanation was possible.

"Okay. Good job, you... you did well," her fingers tapped his shoulder. The genius in him smacked his senses as it was a sign that he could get up now and not have to hover over Temari anymore. An embarrassing blush changed the colour of his cheeks. Grunting, he stood up and felt his bones crack. His hand offered to lift Temari up to which she accepted in one quick movement.

"Th- thanks."

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah this is a lengthy chapter so that is either a good or a bad thing.

I'm so glad you guys seem to like the story so far so I hope I do you all justice and make it better and better with every chapter.  
Little notice that I may take longer than usual to update a chapter because doing A-Levels are not easy (but procrastinating IS).

Thank you all for reading x


	6. 6

It still hadn't left him. What if it appeared again? To scream would not be a sufficient response. To fall to his knees, shout and cry would still not be a sufficient response. If there's anything the past dreams have taught him is that no one would ever prepare for the unexpected. One ridiculously small twist would throw one's balance off completely and would form unbearable torture upon the mind. This is why he was upset. Shikamaru Nara had not known the causes of the dreams and the reasons for their continuity. He would not know why these dreams would become progressively worse.

Was he in some sort of simulator? Was there a specific thing he had to do to escape the stupid, piss-taking box? Perhaps rotate the fucking light bulb in some way that he wouldn't have to hear the voice of his late teacher? Or maybe he just had to stand still and do nothing as he sees the haunting image of his lifeless teacher on the ground like last time.

He recalled the scene from his last dream, where Asuma's body lied with black blood gurgling in his throat and down his mouth. The liquid would flow towards the ground to create a puddle of blood around his head and under his neck. The ash from his last cigarette tangled on his skin and his dead, empty, distant eyes stared at his student. The smell of sweat and blood conquered his senses and horror dangled on his skin from the sight of his long lost teacher. Flies floated above his muscular body and the stench of death soon tormented the room, with the headband that stuck to Asuma's forehead becoming rusted and slowly crawling off his head. It was when the headband hit the ground with a 'clunk', he realised what he saw ahead of him in his dream.

Thinking about it was enough for Shikamaru to find a new method of getting out of bed: running towards the toilet to empty the thoughts of Asuma's dead body.

Every cough and groan was a cry for help. Fighting back the tears was a necessity now that Temari stayed here. There was no doubt that he had woken her up for two nights in a row, but whether or not she would approach him and offer help was up to her. In the meantime, he would grasp onto the toilet seat with every inch of his life and let out his poisonous dream.

Teal eyes stared at the bathroom door with emptiness in her chest. His inaudible cries of suffering were overshadowed by his reluctance to open up to Temari and show his fragile side. There was hesitation for him to show this side to anyone, perhaps even his closest friends. As much as she wanted to go into the bathroom and pat his back as he released the contents from his stomach, she knew he didn't want her there. It was not that he was scared to let her see him like this, she'd seen him cry before. The fear in Shikamaru's heart was for anyone to not understand him and to tell him that the dreams would pass when they were only just beginning. For anyone to not relate and understand his problems, that was the very thing he shuddered at the thought of. Who else had recurring nightmares like he did? How have they recovered from such monstrosity? Perhaps they hadn't. Perhaps no one suffered from such things.

Maybe, it was just him.

The creaking of the floor echoed down the corridor as Temari entered the living room. Her presence next to Shikamaru wasn't necessary but something else was.

Seconds, minutes or hours, Shikamaru hadn't known how long he was in the bathroom. All his thoughts escaped onto the toilet and he dragged himself towards the sink, only to fear his own reflection. Black, charcoal eyes stared into nothing, and loose strands of his hair glued to his sticky skin. The bags underneath his eyes must have been heavier than Temari's tessen and as black as her kimono. Why he had thought of her at that moment when looking at his eyes, he would never know. It was somewhat stupid and insulting for him to compare such a disgusting, tiring feature to such a stunning woman.

He didn't even know what he was thinking anymore, he knew he needed sleep immediately.

The cool water washed the temporary pain and sweat from his face whilst he washed his mouth and opened the window to the bathroom. Drifting silently towards his room, he noticed a glass of water and slices of bread on the bed. The duvet that had been on the floor when he ran out of his room had been recovered and the bed was neatly made. The window was slightly open and the cold breeze relaxed his tense body. A further inspection showed that the bread slices were elegantly cut in equal sizes with a smooth layer of butter and jam alternating on every slice; an effort was made, especially at this time in the morning. He sat on the bed to drink the contents from the glass in one swing but he would take his time eating the bread. Lying on the bed, a small bite of the light bread satisfied his tired mouth and throughout all the pain, he smiled.

It was a simple thing made delicious.

* * *

"The scroll contains the last location of his whereabouts. He was last seen just outside the village so for any reason, if he were to approach the entrance let us know immediately and we will call support. We have our ninjas patrolling the inside village if he were to enter."

"Thank you," she bowed upon accepting the scroll. Shikamaru and Temari were in the office of the Tsuchikage, for the client had been working along side him and warned the leader of the Iwagakure that the enemy would prove to be devastating upon the village; the client had every right to ensure the safety of his village and that meant having to tell the Tsuchikage his concerns.

The pair left the office and would walk and walk and walk until they were miles from the entrance of the village. They were on high alert to sense the enemy's chakra and wouldn't dare to fall for his genjutsu. The two soon found themselves in an area of open land without a tree in sight. The sky was grey and the ground was similarly dry to the training ground they were in before their mission, but was dirty brown in colour as opposed to yellow. The journey had taken 3 days to get to Iwagakure and that seemed to be more tiring than the actual mission itself: waiting for however long it took for the enemy to appear and exterminate him.

"What does he look like?"

"Purple eyes with long black hair. Your height and he'd wear a cloak," Temari recalled from her mission statement. She saw him nod from the corner of her eyes as the pair looked straight and continued to move.

"Erm, thanks. For the other evening," he broke the silence. The silence around them was comfortable but the events of that night would stick to her mind. Confusion from his words disappeared when she had realised what he had meant.

"It's nothing," the silence returned.

The peace between them was disrupted by their sudden halt. The air felt thicker and the clouds darkened, with the low rumbling of thunder and the pitter patter of raindrops. Both of them had sensed the presence of an unfamiliar figure behind them, to which they sharply turned around. Whatever emotion they had on their face faded upon the sight of the man who had matched Temari's description. His wide and empty eyes were an unappealing shade of purple, and his cloak mirrored the tone of the sky. Before the pair had a chance to attack, the male slammed his palms onto the floor and called out a ninjustu.

The dead ground was brought back to life to create thick pillars and lines with sharpened edges. It pointed towards the pair and targeted them, leaving the two to jump backwards, sideways, upwards, to avoid being struck. Shikamaru wouldn't use his shadow techniques just yet, not until he had known of the enemy's capabilities. Meanwhile, Temari gently landed on the ground and ran towards the mysterious male. More and more lines emerged from the ground to strike her, missing her opportunity to hit him. She stopped and destroyed all of his oncoming attacks, graciously performing back flips and swinging her arms to strike the lines with every corner of her tessen. An explosive tag stuck to the kunai Shikamaru had thrown towards the enemy, creating an explosive cloud of smoke that enveloped his enemy. It was enough time for his jutsu's to stop attacking Temari and give her a moment to breathe.

The shadow of the enemy enlarged as he reappeared from the smoke with black marks and scratches on his skin, eyes drenched in a thirst for blood and pain.

"The daughter of the fourth and the sister of the fifth Kazekage. Such status means nothing for two weak men and their family," his ugly smile stretched across his skin. She had failed to not express emotion when her eyebrows furrowed at his words and her eyes narrowed. Temari would only stare at his eyes in means of intimidating him, insulted by his disgusting words. A growl stung in her throat as she clenched her fists and teeth.

A sense of unfamiliarity struck. The words he spoke wouldn't match what he was mouthing, Shikamaru thought.

"The smartest ninja in all of Konoha after his father. Tell me Shikamaru Nara, tell me your dreams."

Temari felt her partner become uneasy and his fists tightening and tightening. Black eyes narrowing, he stared at his face and every single muscle in his body tensed. His ears were invaded by the noise of his heart racing with tremendous speed and his throat began to dry up.

Suddenly, realisation hit the kunoichi.

 _Shit! This is what he wants._

Shikamaru's fury gave him the edge to charge towards his enemy with his hands behind his back. Temari swung open her tessen and hoped that she wasn't too late.

"The first star."  
Extending her arm behind her, she swung her tessen forward to release a sudden gust of wind. Shikamaru ignored the whistle of the wind, continuing the charge forward and launch a strike. With a smirk, the enemy slapped his hands together and walls of soil and earth ascended around Shikamaru, deflecting his strike and Temari's wind attack.

 _What?!_

Sweat fell down Temari's cheek as the sight of Shikamaru and their enemy disappeared behind what appeared to be a box of earth. The shadow user hadn't been aware that he was trapped inside with the enemy until the sight of the sky darkened and the air felt trapped.

"Shikamaru!"  
Temari almost tripped over the cracks in the ground, running towards the box. Her eyes widened and the pace of her breath fastened as she approached closer and closer. In an attempt to break the box, she jumped and flew towards the target with a kunai digging straight into the box. Performing a backward somersault, she retreated from the box and waited for the explosive tag to smash the box. Clouds of smoke and fire erupted from the explosion, with Temari's arm covering her face from the impact. Seconds later, she looked away from her arm to look straight ahead...the box remained untouched and the kunai lied on the ground.

Desperate times called for desperate measures as she flung her tessen on her back and exchanged punches towards the seemingly unbreakable box. Every punch became stronger and harder and she promised to shake off the pain that echoed in her body. Blood covered her white hands and tears threatened to stream down her cheek; she wouldn't let it.

"!"

* * *

 _Where am I?!_

Black covered his sight until a flame erupted from the enemy's finger. A small flick spread the fire evenly, floating in all four corners of the box, with one flame dead in centre above him.

"This doesn't exactly match the image in your dreams, but it seems to be good enough for this occasion don't you think?"  
With a blink, Shikamaru's eyes widened and leaned slightly backwards with his hands wide open and shaking. He knew. This stranger knew. He felt like a different person moments ago, with sudden acts of rage and impulse controlling his body. He was supposed to stay back and analyse his weaknesses before making an attack with his ninjutsu. Instead, he completely abandoned his ideas to unnaturally attempt to fight him head on with his new taijutsu techniques. Why did he abandon such thought? He specifically remembered looking at his fighting style as his hands touched the ground, and his mouth taun-

His mouth.

That was it.

"From the looks of it, you've seemed to realise that my genjutsu is the way I speak. What I say doesn't match what I'm **actually** saying Shikamaru."

The shadow boy felt his body stiffen as if he were caught in his own shadow manipulation techniques. He was still under his illusions, and wouldn't be able to move his body easily, not if he were still under this man's control.

"I took advantage of your intelligence." he walked around him with delirious eyes.

"Shut up."

"You would notice anything strange about me, which is what I want from anyone. It's in human nature to spot what is unusual about another person. The moment you saw how I spoke, it was over." Frozen in his trance, images that haunted his dreams began to reappear ahead of him whilst the enemy seemed to have faded in the background. Asuma's skin was thinner than he last saw it, with his prominent, unhealthy cheekbones being the attraction of flies and worms. Bones were exposed on his lethargic fingers, and acidic bubbles floated around his own pool of blood.

The contents of his stomach sat in his throat, with each agonisingly slow heart beat shaking the very life out of him. Blood ran cold down his spine and the texture of his skin was replaced by goosebumps. The sides of his cheeks were frozen and his weak knees gave in to the image ahead of him.

Asuma, his dear Asuma, was the subject of a horrifying genjutsu.

"You've been under my genjustu for under 10 minutes. You don't seem to be lasting very long, that's quite unfortunate," the enemy's breath ghosted next to Shikamaru's ears. He felt the corners of his mouth rise upwards and upwards with every abusive word.

"Shut up. Shut the **fuck** up. Your illusions are all a fake!" he desperately tried to convince himself. Hated? No. He **despised** the man in this moment of time. Nothing would have been more satisfying than his defeat.

"Your seemingly other half refused to look at my mouth but my eyes. I wanted control her darkest fears and hypnotise her instead of you. But you're good enough for me to deal with."

A sharp pain stabbed Shikamaru's shoulder as he gave a bloodcurdling scream. His body leaned forwards with his right hand grabbing the left shoulder where the kunai struck through his body. Blood soaked his outfit, spreading at an alarming rate. Still being able to see Asuma's dead body ahead of him, he thought of the processes when dying. He was next, and he was going to end up as lifeless, as dead as his teacher. It was insulting, Shikamaru thought. He was fighting back the tears from being stabbed in the shoulder when Asuma died from being struck in the heart; Shikamaru's pain was planets and galaxies away from Asuma's final pain. He wasn't strong enough, he wasn't good enough to be a ninja if he plummeted to the ground from the pain of a stabbed shoulder. Ferocious ninjas have endured worse. Naruto and Sasuke hadn't flinched from their lost arm after their final fight, Chouji and Ino had suffered considerably worse than Shikamaru has and have never given up from it.

Temari had suffered from a broken childhood to broken bones and was still punching the box without Shikamaru's knowledge.

The enemy walked around Shikamaru and for every time he had walked past his face, he'd create a new horrifying image. It was fun toying with Shikamaru's deepest nightmares and his neglected thoughts. Perhaps he would create a new level of terror before he'd kill him. Squatting down next to him, he rested his hand on his back and stared at his fatigued, wet eyes.

"We should reunite with someone."

The enemy's presence faded into the air and Shikamaru looked up to view a new figure lying on the ground. There was a rotten smell of fire and flesh, with smoke floating above the body. The figure wore a white, sleeveless coat, burned to a crisp. The body's eyes were closed and had varying shades of red and black on his skin. His hair mirrored the shadow boy's, with deep, engraved lines on his face and a goatee falling from his chin. After the end of the war, no one had been able to recover his body. Saying his final goodbyes next to him would be impossible. The building he was in burned to ashes before the bodies of those inside were ever found.

"Fuck you, **fuck you**."

He let go of the tears that blurred his vision. Pain and anguish left with every scream and cry, for having to see the bodies of his father and Asuma whilst being confined in a box that reflected the scenes in his dreams. This form of genjutsu was inhumane, disgusting, and most importantly **not real**.

"I take pride knowing that those who terrified me in my childhood now suffer from the deadliest of mental illnesses. Schizophrenia, depression, psychological trauma. The mind is an amazing part of the body that's often overlooked. Its capabilities are extraordinary, above the strength of the most strongest ninjas of our time. I see into their worst nightmares when they look at my mouth, and I use it against them."

A river of sweat and tears covered Shikamaru's face and he deemed himself worthless and useless. His bones shivered with loose arms dangling to his sides and nails crawling into the cracked ground. The enemy hovered over him and sighed, people were no fun at all when they were under shock.

"By using the mind, I intend to weaken you until you beg for mercy. And then I will kill you Shikamaru Nara."

Snatching another kunai from his sleeves, the figure on the ground was still frozen in his mental state to avoid his attack. Closing his eyes, he wasn't ready to join Asuma or his father. He wasn't ready to greet death with his hands in his pockets and a bored facial expression. But his body gave in and his mind was miles from sanity. He would only wait for the impact of the kunai to strike his back, through to his heart. The enemy's arm extended backwards and with a menacing look, he forced the kunai to his back.

If this is what death had felt like, it was a lot less painful than he thought...and a lot more breezy.

Bursts of wind shot from the cracks on the ground beneath them. The kunai was millimetres away from Shikamaru's back and the enemy stepped away from him. The intensity of the wind increased and the ceiling of earth above them broke to form holes that were getting bigger and bigger. All of a sudden, the walls of earth around the two broke and spun in circles, carried away by a hurricane. The images of the death left Shikamaru's eyes and he had reunited with the view of the dark sky with the raw texture of the cloud's tears hitting his skin. The hurricane that created his freedom had disappeared into thin air and he felt himself breathe for the first time in that moment. He turned to see horror planted on the enemy's face from looking at the ruthless, incredibly pissed off kunoichi. Blood drenched her hands and clumps of soil clung to her uniform and her tessen. Her face glistened with sweat and rain, but her eyes stood firm with fury and the determination to complete her mission.

A body wrapped Shikamaru's arms around his as he found himself further away from Temari and the genjutsu user.  
"Shikamaru-san! You're gravely hurt. Temari had called for us to treat you!"

He was surprised he was able to hear the words of ninjas that were no less strangers to him. They were at a distance such that Shikamaru could only see two dots moving, with the occasional black object being swung around to create a roar of wind. Eyes were becoming heavier and heavier by the second but he refused to take his eye off the two fighters, more specifically the dot holding the black object. He wanted to see her beat the shit out of him, for what he did. He wanted to see justice. He wanted his enemy to know that karma was a bitch.

The sound of his heart pumping blood in his body was a relief. There was something quite appealing about the dark clouds in front of him.

Revenge was due its course as the enemy's chakra was at its lowest and hers hadn't even flinched. She used her tessen as a club to strike his chest, ribcage, neck and head. Her movements were beautifully devastating, as blood left his mouth for every powerful strike.

"This,

She kicked his chest as he flew backwards.

is for being a coward in this battle."

"This,

Her tessen smacked his neck with brute force; she knew he broke his neck and it was already the end.

is for insulting me and my family."

"And **this** ,

Unleashing all three stars on her tessen, she swung him upwards beyond the clouds. His figure disappeared into the dark clouds before he began falling towards the earth with extreme velocity. Pinpointing where he would land, Temari walked over to the spot where his shadow became thinner and smaller. Bringing out her tessen in the centre of his shadow, she smirked knowing that her weapon would withstand any weight of any speed.

The descending body's back collided with the top of Temari's weapon.

Every single bone one could imagine in his back shattered underneath his skin and a noiseless scream left his mouth. His now lifeless body drooped on her steel weapon, his purple eyes covered in blood from his mouth. His death face would have disturbed Temari if she hadn't been the reason for it. Sympathy ceased to exist as she simply tilted her tessen forward to let his dead body slam on the ground.

is for Shikamaru."

The rustling of ninjas on the battle field emerged almost immediately after the end of the battle. Many ninjas were awed but quite frankly, terrified by the sight of the enemy's dead body, all in the work of Temari. Whilst some had carried the lifeless body away from the scene, Temari's client thanked her with all his heart. She could only smile and hide her exhaustion from the sudden loss of chakra she suffered from her final blow. Medical nins arrived on the scene to treat Temari's exhaustion. No other battle had given her the determination to land such a fatal blow, she was less ferocious than that. But it was the unexplained desperation to save Shikamaru that resulted in all of this.

Wait.

Shikamaru.

How could she forget?!

Eyes widening, she threw her tessen to the ground for greater running speed. Abandoning her main source of weaponry was no thing anyone should push aside, she voluntarily **exposed** herself in a dangerous environment. The battle was won, but not until she knew the safety of her partner. She focused on the dot in the far distance with jet black, pineapple hair, being treated by other medical ninja's. The dot became closer and closer, and she ignored the broken bones in her fingers and her crying lungs. With a slide, she fell to the ground and stared at his thin, exposed face. Never had she seen such dried up eyes, with black bags weighing him down. Blood lurked in the corners of his mouth and countless scratches ruined the texture of his skin. Those black eyes of his drifted to look at her mesmerising eyes that shook with concern.

"Shikamaru! Stay with me, are you okay?!"  
Her screams were quieter than a whisper to his tired ears. The vision of Temari blurred. His eyelids naturally began to close, ignoring her screams of concern.

"Shikamaru, wake up! Don't you dare die on me!"

Tch, die? No. He was just tired. She was worrying too much for no reason.

Women were so troublesome.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm so hungover rn that if this chapter is bare dodgy and shit, blame it on that

Speaking of which I hope you all like this so far and if you don't, lol soz ok I tried I'm bad with fighting chapters

Thank you for reading x


	7. 7

They were breathless and enveloped by each other's arms. Fingers traced the back of his sensitive skin, sending shivers down his spine. Her legs were wrapped around his waist as he supported the body above him. Heat rushed to their cheeks and chest as melodic moans left their mouths for every contact. The figure who brushed her lips over his was a perfect painting come to life, and no one would admire her beauty as well as him. Their breathless kisses were met by their hold on each other tightening and sweat trickling down their raw skin. His hands hovered over her curves and he rested his arms around her waist, refusing to let go. Fingers slid up towards his hair and grabbed hold of it with such desperate thoughts and urges. They were one, and no one else would say otherwise. Their lost teenage years caught up towards the pair in this moment, for a scale of emotions ran across their mind and bodies.

As their kisses intensified, her lips left his.

"Shi..."

He wouldn't let her leave as she caught her words with his lips, eyes closed in utter bliss. Letting her speak would ruin the flow, ruin the moment of urgency they needed from one another.

"Shikamaru..." she retreated from their kisses with guilt. Her fingers left his hair to hold his cheeks, tracing his skin with her thumb. He hadn't spoken. He was scared to.

The shadow boy opened his eyes to stare at his own reflection from a pair of stunning, teal eyes. A smile curved her lips before she planted a final kiss.

"Wake up."

* * *

A fatigued body woke up in a room coated with white paint with windows providing light onto his skin. The sun's rays would have been blinding if it weren't for the curtains. Attempting to look around him, his efforts were halted by the pain that shot to his neck. He hissed in pain and returned to relax his head onto the soft, pillow bed.

Her prominent, unique teal eyes hadn't left his head. He wouldn't admit that it was her in his dreams. To dream of her as **that** rather than a...friend (he guessed) was insulting and unfair. She was more than something who provided physical pleasure, she was human. Not just a human, but a ruthless kunoichi who dared to take on the world by herself with her tessen. Her leadership skills would be respected by the five Kages, and her loyalty was untouchable. She was a strong woman. She was Temari.

And she was sat on a seat next to his bed with her elbow on a desk.

Said kunoichi was asleep.

Her hand supported her head as she slowly and quietly breathed. A small chuckle sounded the room as he looked at the sleeping woman. He wouldn't know of the fact that he had been in the hospital for a week, with Temari waiting by his side every day and night. After he was released, she would lie to him and say it was only for two days. She would also keep a closer look on the shadow boy, for without a doubt, he was traumatised and still tired. The effects of the genjutsu on Shikamaru wouldn't hit him until days later, when he recalls the events that occurred. But for now, he'd look at Temari with more than just slight amusement.

"How troublesome," he whispered before drifting back to sleep.

* * *

"We're almost back in Konoha Shikamaru, don't go about crying and complaining."

He felt a sense of relief that her dialogue returned to normal; it would feel unusual without the occasional teasing between the two.

"I get it woman," he saw her smirk from his irritation.

The two caught up in their conversations, throwing an insult or a criticism in a sentence or two. The journey had took an extra day due to Shikamaru's physical condition, but Temari didn't mind; all the more hours to annoy him, right? His battle scars had disappeared for every day that passed but his mind had blocked what he had endured. There was something about the processes in his brain that wouldn't acknowledge what occurred to him several days earlier, unbeknown to the kunoichi. The impact of the enemy's fall onto Temari's tessen (made of steel, just a painful reminder) had faintly damaged it. Repairing it was expensive and - as the lazy boy would say - troublesome, but as she remembered the enemy crumbling and suffering for every breath he took, Temari smirked even more.

Justice wasn't always pain-free, it sometimes coincided with death.

They had eventually walked past the gates of Konoha without their knowledge until the familiar faces of Ino and Chouji grasped their attention.

"Shikamaru! ...And Temari?!"  
Ino felt herself brighten upon seeing the Suna civilian, confirming her suspicions about them. Chouji was left to himself as Ino dashed towards the shadow user to throw herself in her famous, inescapable hugs.

"I knew it, I knew it, I **knew** it! You took soooooo long to realise how you felt you dumbo!"

Shikamaru felt his face turn brighter than the sun with his hands trapped to his sides. To think he would die in the arms of one of his closest friends was incredibly unfortunate. Meanwhile, the kunoichi to the right looked at the two with one eyebrow raised and her right hand resting on her hips. She didn't understand Ino's comment and turned to look at the other friend approaching the group. He had swirls in his cheek and was munching on his dango, stirring a little grumble in Temari's stomach.

"Ino, you're seriously going to end up killing him!"

But the blond haired beauty ignored his friend's concerns. A smile stretched across her face whilst the man she was hugging (and suffocating) felt his soul leave his body.

"Chouji don't you see what's going on here?! Shikamaru has a **girlfriend**! We were waiting for this day to come and now that it's finally happened I can sleep in peace!"

"Girlfriend?"

Temari's head tilted slightly towards Ino. With a confused expression, she asked herself when this had happened. If he had a girlfriend, then was it okay for her to sleep at his place? Oh that's never a good sign is it? A cloud of guilt surrounded her heart until Shikamaru's friend spoke, the bystander. Chouji, was it?

"Why didn't you tell us anything Shikamaru?!"

"Excuse me?"

Confusion was a deadly and unknown territory for the kunoichi.  
A soul was recovered as Ino's arms around Shikamaru weakened in order to step back and joyfully jump, clapping her hands in celebration.

"Temari there's no need to be shy about it! You don't need to worry at all because if he hurts you in any way I'll make sure he knows the feeling of pain until his deathbed."

The fact that Ino's smile hadn't cracked and was - if anything - dazzling more than ever was actually scarier than her promise. Temari felt a sweat drop descend from the back of her head, knowing that the innocent looking woman would bring a world of torture upon the shadow boy. Speaking of whom, placed his hands on his knees and took heavy breaths. Full recovery hadn't yet been achieved, so what seemed like an over exaggerated response was actually appropriate.

But seriously what was Ino talking about?

"You okay?" Temari had turned and walked towards him.

"I'll...live." He felt her hand on the back of his shoulder whilst he continued to manage his breathing. This caught the concern of his comrades and the gleaming atmosphere had died.

"Huh? Shikamaru are you okay?"

"We just returned from a mission and he was in a bad condition. He's still recovering but I doubt your," she pointed to Ino, "hug made it any better."  
Temari hadn't realised her blunt words had a great impact until Ino's eyebrows furrowed and her hand covered her mouth. There was nothing but pure guilt.

"Eh?! Shikamaru, I'm so sorry! Oh my goodness I didn't mean to, I was just so happy seeing the both of you finally as a couple and I-"

" **What?!** "

Whatever fatigue and pain that ran through Shikamaru's body had disappeared when he straightened his back to stare at his friends, followed by the kunoichi whose hand was now far away from his back. Responses of shock painted their faces when they had finally realised what his friends had meant.

"Please. Why would I go out with a lazy guy like him, I would **never**."

"She's just as scary as my mother so being with her would be my deathbed."

Teal eyes glared at a pair of jet black eyes.

"I doubt I can be in a relationship with a man who's weaker than me and my brothers."

"I'd live a short life because she'd kill me with her tessen."

His usual posture of his hands in his pockets and looking straight ahead to his friends **pissed** her off.

"Tch, he isn't even looking at me in the eyes because he's scared of me. How amusing."

"I'm not interested in turning into stone, Medusa."

"Say that again I **dare** you." Her hand darted to her tessen in less than a millisecond.

"You're being annoying Temari."

"Is that right **crybaby**?"

She felt satisfied seeing him look at her from the corner of his eyes.

 _They're not together but they argue like a married couple..._

Ino and Chouji were forced to watch the pair bicker insults back and forth to each other. Temari's exchange of threats was countered by Shikamaru's undisturbed attitude. No other pair had the talent of quarrelling one line after another without repeating the same insults like they did. A small part of Temari wished that he'd no longer be in any pain, so she shouted empty threats. But if he was in a good condition and hadn't just got out of a hospital after a week, he would be a dot in the sky flying from Konoha to Amegakure by now.

"You're way too troublesome."

The two friends saw an eye twitch from the Suna girl's eye and used it as a cue to leave.

"Okay Shikamaru get better soon and we'll catch up later okay! Bye, we'll see you so- Chouji let's go!" Said blonde grabbed her friend by the arm before running and hiding themselves from the two.

* * *

"Ah! Temari and Shikamaru. I heard how the mission we- are you two alright?"

Kakashi regretted his question immediately. His sharinghan saw that the kunoichi's jaw was tense and her gritted teeth hid behind her closed mouth. Her nose scrunched up slightly - presumably from fury - and the feeling behind her eyes... they were unreal. Nevertheless, she kept the perfect posture with her straight back and her arms to her side. The temptation to form her hand into a fist was unbearable but she was more mature than that. She wouldn't let anything interfere with her work, not even the stupid son of a bitch next to him. His back wasn't properly straight like hers but it was easier for him to slouch forward a bit to ease the pain in his body. However, he hadn't been able to hide the exhausted expression on his face from his mission and his row with Temari. Shikamaru would know that Kakashi had noticed her annoyed expression, so the debriefing would be twice as short.

The shadow boy sighed at his question.

"Just a long day."

The silence that emerged was violent.

"I see."

Temari's unchanged expression began to intimidate the Sixth Hokage.

"Well, I'll just spare the time and state that I've already been informed how the mission went. Well done to the both of you, so you're entitled today and next two days off. Enjoy yourselves."

Normally, Shikamaru would complain and bargain with Kakashi. Just the current day off and then he'd return straight to the office. But the muscles in his body were no longer responding to his brain's commands and he found himself thanking Kakashi and ready to leave the office.

"However I would like to speak to Temari in private."

She gained a softer expression as she composed herself. Nodding at Kakashi's command, she hadn't turned to see Shikamaru look at her before he left the room, probably to go home and sleep the day away. As the door closed with a click, the Hokage stopped resting his head on his hands.

"How is he?"

Such a simple question dumbfounded her.

"Who knows. He would wake up in the middle of the night from these nightmares."

"Ah. So that's whats been bothering him."

 _So even the Hokage-sama doesn't know what's going on?_

"Kakashi-san, what are they?"

Eyes shot up at her words. The roaring flame in her eyes were no longer there and had been replaced with candlelight, a beautiful, softer element. The eyes that silently worried for the shadow boy didn't know how to react. He was purposely hiding his problems from the closest people in his lives, and that was more than just upsetting, it was disrespectful. The thought of misjudging someone so badly made Temari's blood boil. She hated that she didn't know how to react to these situations, and why she felt this way.

Kakashi felt her starting to become upset again but he looked down towards his desk.

"I'm afraid I'm unsure Temari. Before I called you, he didn't seem alright but when questioned about it, he merely shrugged it off. It appears that you know most out of all of us."

"But he won't tell anyone anything. I'm unsure how I can help him if he doesn't trust me."

If only she could see him smile behind his mask.

"Shikamaru trusts you very much Temari. However this isn't a situation that can be solved very quickly. This will take more time than we believe and as a friend, you must see it through to the end with him."

 _Although it's quite clear that you two are more than that._

It was annoying how the Hokage was right and she wasn't. Temari could only stand by Shikamaru's side, whether or not he wanted her there because deep inside, she cared so much. Nothing had bothered her like this in all her years of living, and she would seek to know what it was no matter how complicated it could get. The Hokage's words repeated in an endless cycle in her mind from the moment she left his office all the way to her standing behind the entrance to his apartment.

Having a lower than the normal level of confidence was occasional for Temari. But nervous? No. There was no such thing as that to her. This woman swallowed her fears and confronted them face first. She was a hurricane that was indestructible and unstoppable, engulfing everything in its path. Yet, the power of this hurricane died from a door.

A stupid, useless door, with the most annoying person in the world behind it.

The key unlocked the door and the woman stepped inside with closed eyes. Her feet strolled towards her room to change out of her dirty attire. Afterwards she entered the kitchen to find an empty room. The kitchen counter to her right was untouched, along with the green sofa and TV that had been collecting dust microscopically. The window opposite to the entrance of the room opened slightly, providing the summer breeze to greet the Suna civilian. It reminded her of the climate from home and how she must visit soon. The white curtain floating from the wind almost covered Temari's view of the table which propped by the window. As the breeze relaxed, she noticed steam arising from a tea cup on the table. The contents inside were warm and had smelt of mints. Sitting by the window, shapes of sakura petals were engraved on the cup. The surroundings of the petals were a light green with thin lines of brown branches connecting to the petals. Her thumb brushed over the soft texture of her favourite tea cup with a little smile. Busy markets and laughter from the streets of Konoha hadn't disturbed the peace Temari had felt in that moment. A small sip of her delicious drink was savoured with an larger smile and closed eyes.

 _Maybe, we'll be okay._

Shikamaru had appeared by the door by the time Temari had emptied the contents of her cup. Placing it gently on the table, she looked over to see the figure without his usual uniform attire. He wore a white shirt that showed off the shape of his chest and arms. Muscles had grown a bit in his arms and chest, something that his tired state could not hide. Pale green shorts stopped at the top of his knee and had pockets (as always with his clothes). Where else can the shadow boy rest his hands? All the while in his eyes, he looked at her peach tank top that exposed the sharpness of her collarbones. Blue shorts hadn't covered half of her thighs but rather hugged them instead. It was remarkable what a kimono could cover.

"Are you feeling better?"  
She hadn't realised she didn't stop herself from asking him. She was supposed to still be angry at him and not kind, given the rude things he had said to her earlier. Then again, she was rude too. Perhaps worse.

"Mm. Guess so."  
Itching the back of his hair, he walked to grab the kettle to make his own tea. Mint wasn't his favourite, but he knew it was hers so he put it aside.

"Have you been sleeping?"

"Perhaps," he turned to look at the woman with the four pigtails before sipping his drink. Ouch, it was still hot.

"Sleeping isn't always the best remedy."

"So what do you suggest?"

Another sip of his tea burnt his tongue again. But hey, all the muscles in his body were unresponsive anyway.

Her hands were still wrapped around her cup but she turned her body towards him. Suggestions flicked through her mind, similar to the image of looking through countless stacks of paper until finding the right file. Shikamaru must have been familiar with that image more than anyone else in Konoha besides the Hokage. Suggestion after suggestion, her eye contact with him hadn't broken until she blinked. A light bulb sparked above her head.

"We've never played a game of shougi with each other."

Finishing his drink, he realised that she was right. For those who were close to him, they would occasionally play a game of shougi with him. Of course, some of his friends had never understood the rules nor did they enjoy it, so he always ended up playing with his father or Asuma. But to play with Temari? She was capable and smart enough to slow the progress of him (inevitably) winning, and didn't seem like the type to dislike playing shougi. It had been a very long time since he last played so it wasn't a bad suggestion.

"Pft I doubt that's helpful."

Although his words just disobeyed everything he had thought about in that moment.

"Have you ever played whilst tired?"

"No because I'd be too tired to play."

"You seem fine for now. Never know until you try."

Pause.

Blink.

Smile.

"Well, guess I can't help but say yeah."

That's all it took for him to abruptly leave the room to retrieve the shougi set before placing it on the floor. Playing shougi on the table just didn't seem right for anyone in Konoha, it was the same in Suna. Kneeling onto the floor, she helped him assemble the set and began to play.

* * *

Temari had never come across defeat so often in the space of an afternoon and evening.

The first defeat was shrugged off because she wasn't completely familiar with the rules whereas he was. She just needed time to get used to the restricted movements of the pieces, that was all. The second and third defeat had began to irk her. There was no such thing as a pattern in Shikamaru's eyes for he would always use different pieces at different moments. Despite her drastic improvements in the game they were no match for his intelligence and experience. After her fifth defeat, she refused to continue keeping track of how many games they had. Shikamaru hadn't kept track either but not because he was concerned about having a winning streak, he simply enjoyed playing shougi and Temari's company. Although he would be lying if he said that he didn't find it amusing and quite cute when she'd put her hand on her chin and furrow her eyebrows, movements before checkmate.

The hooting of an owl echoing throughout the city brought Temari's attention towards the night sky peeping behind her from the window.

"It's already night. How long have we been playing?"

He turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall next to the television.

"7 hours."

"What? It hardly felt like 2 hours."

The kunoichi helped Shikamaru clean and neatly assemble the pieces. She guessed that time flew by when people were having fun.

"This would always happen."

"What do you mean?"

His fingers froze over the king piece, lightly touching the texture of the smooth piece. She noticed his eyes slightly narrowing before he played it off with a chuckle.

"It's nothing."

He stood up to return the shougi set to his room. As he turned away, Temari stood up with her hands formed into a fist and her eyes staring at the ground. The feeling that grew inside her was undoubtedly anger and she actually knew why for once, ever since she the mission began. There was something more to his words and Temari had thought for a second that he would tell her. Not just 'it's nothing' but perhaps everything that had been haunting him. But no. That didn't happen.

For a patient woman, her manners and morals flew out the window.

Storming towards his room, he saw him place the set onto his desk. A head turned to look at her face.

Her elegant, furious face.

"You have a lot of people who care about you Shikamaru. Maybe it's time to not wallow in your depth of despair and let them help you," words drifted from whispers to quiet shouts and the hurricane in her heart gave her the confidence to look at his eyes...his lost, beautiful eyes. Her eyes noticed the familiar tone of loneliness behind his. No one had deserved to feel what he had currently been feeling, Temari thought. Being surrounded by those who loved and cared for him whilst still feeling alone and empty was heartbreaking. There was a mental block in his mind that prevented him from seeing happiness and radiance around him, and only she could help break that.

But how?

For a leader, she would plan strategies and evaluate the costs and benefits of each plan. This time however, she abandoned her typical ways and decided to wing it. Feelings weren't something one could plan or control.

Shikamaru's eyes were closed and he fought the urge to smile; he failed. With a little chuckle he looked back towards the shougi board.

"You're just acting nice to make up for the afternoon."

A quiet gasp left Temari's lips. He didn't just say that. He didn't go there.

Approaching him, she grabbed his shoulders to ensure all attention was on her.

"What is wrong with you, why are you avoiding everything?! What's the benefit of keeping things to yourself? Give me a good goddamn reason right now Shikamaru Nara."

The smile on his face faded and with a 'tch', he pushed himself backwards from Temari's grasp. It was easy to do so given his height.

"Nothing is wrong woman so stop making things into a big deal," he looked away from her to wipe the non-existent sweat on his face.

"Am I?! Explain all those recurring nightmares you're having and those days where you vomit right after. I don't know what society states in Konoha but back in Suna, **that** isn't normal." Her eyes on him hadn't left, even if what she could only see was the side of his face.

"Leave me alone Temari. This has nothing to do with you."

"Oh so you admit there's something wrong?"

"I'll admit anything as long as you leave this room."

"If I recall, you're the one who invited me to stay here."

A frustrated groan from the shadow boy meant he would regret his next words.

"We should keep our personal issues to ourselves. There's no poi-"

"This had become **my** issue the moment I stepped foot into your home!" she snapped. Her uncharacteristic nature alarmed the both of them but she had to continue making her point. She had to continue speaking so he could see it. He needed to wake the fuck up from his illusions and see what he was happening in the real world.

"I accepted this as soon as I asked you what was wrong the first night when you woke up sweating. I voluntarily made food for you after you were sick. Any decent friend would do that. It was easier to see you and deal with you being at the hospital with more than adequate care than if I had left you."

 _Fuck. I want to stop. I don't want to speak anymore._

"So don't tell me..." _No please shut up just leave the room "_ that this is just your problem when it hurts others around you too."

She refused to shout and forced herself to speak in her normal volume and tone. Suddenly, she felt cold in the warm night as she rubbed her arms to ease the goosebumps. The expression on his face was of hurt and shock combined. Temari was certain that it mirrored her expression too. She could feel her eyes relaxing and looking towards the picture of Shikamaru and his team on the desk. It was cute. Shivering, she turned to walk towards the door with something building up in her eye. Hay fever was so annoying wasn't it?

"I misjudged you," it was a quiet whisper that could've been swallowed by the wind. But he heard it, and heard it well such that all feeling stopped. The blood and chakra in him had stopped flowing and his body felt numb. His mouth was slightly open but no words were spoken. He wanted to call after her, protest against her words and simply drop to his knees and give in. In that moment, he would have told her **everything**. From Asuma's death, to after the end of the war, to now seeing the very woman that confuses his perception on what is real or not. The very woman that can no longer be seen as an acquaintance or friend. Their relationship had been developing through ugly and dark times of conflict and war. Only from now could they develop in blossoming and lighter ways. Except that nothing has changed since they had first met.

"Te-"

The click of the door ended any further discussion that evening.

"...I'm so sorry."

* * *

 **A/N:** The 'personal issues' and 'I misjudged you' thing was from the Shikamaru Hiden lol 5give me pls for unoriginal content

hope y'all like it so far + i have an idea for a new story (rip a level grades) so i'll probably do 2 stories at the same time (expect some accidental crossovers)


	8. 8

Awake and afraid. The dull white ceiling had never looked so interesting before. The humid Summer never felt so cold and chilly before. The ache in his heart had never hurt his breathing since the death of his loved ones. Yet today was the day for change; all his forgotten and unwanted feelings had returned. Jet black eyes ran to the clock.

3:15 am.

The skill he had of staying awake beyond 3 am was remarkable. If Temari had known that this habit of his begun the day of his first dream, she would have made such a prominent point about it in their argument. Temari...he hurt her. It was an honest mistake and he didn't know she cared this much. Out of nowhere, all this concern and care for him had knocked him off his guard and caused him to push her back instead of pulling her closer. He hurt her. The unbreakable, soldier kunoichi was hurt and it was his fault.

Heavy legs hoisted over the bed as he covered his face. He needed to visit a particular place but frowned knowing that the flower shop wasn't open. But he was smart, he could figure out something in the meantime. Running through a series of ideas and plans, he stretched his back as he stood up. Changing into a more suitable attire of trousers rather than shorts, he grabbed a thin jacket and his keys before leaving his home. He aimed to close the door as quietly as he could in hopes that the kunoichi wouldn't wake up. It had been a stressful evening and rest was the very thing she deserved. Of course, Shikamaru also needed to rest but he couldn't until he ran his errands. The door gave a soft click noise and the figure walked towards the outskirts of Konoha.

* * *

The figure in the room next to his was sitting upwards. Her heavy eyes couldn't carry her to the land of dreams and her mind was preoccupied by her very own words.

 _I misjudged you._

She didn't expect to say that herself, she didn't even know what she meant by that. Perhaps she overreacted and his situation was far from easy to explain. Maybe she just didn't understand that from the start and proceeded to hurt him anyway. Guilt invaded her heavy, little heart as she turned her attention towards the window. The drifting clouds illuminated in the dark night as it hid the moon. For once, Temari had begun to appreciate the beautiful colour of black and navy. There were just like his eyes and hair. He had grown through the darkness of his teacher's death and the pain of war, to emerge as a handsome man but with a burdened soul.

Her attention towards the night sky vanished upon the sound of a click. That unmistakable noise indicated that the door had closed, and someone either sneaked in or out. Although given that the noise was very silent, she knew that someone had left the house as quietly as they could.

There was no doubt that it was him. He left the house.

Temari was a very smart woman, and she knew that he left for some peace and quiet. Space was what he needed and she wouldn't stop him. Konoha was a very safe and friendly place so she wasn't concerned about the likelihood of harm approaching him this late in the night. Instead, she wanted his forgiveness and thought that she should talk to him the next day, when they were both in a better mood without the frustration and anger. She could explain her side of things in a calm and peaceful manner while respecting his decisions. If he didn't want to tell her anything that was more than okay, she would continue to be there for him. However for now sleep was necessary.

For one final time, Temari had closed her eyes and hoped to drift into her dreams.

* * *

"Hey Asuma. How's heaven treating you?" Shikamaru lit a candle besides his teacher's gravestone all before placing his hands together to pray under the night sky. The thick clouds had become thin lines and the moon shone light upon the scene. The stars were scattered across the sky's endless canvas and the soft wind provided a peaceful breeze. The fact that it was Summer hadn't fooled him. The nights would still be colder than people assumed so his jacket was suitable for the current temperature.

"I'm sorry for the lack of flowers on me. I'll get some for later so bear with me," the young adult had pulled a childish face. His soft blush and innocent smile was a form of apology for his lack of preparedness. Hopefully Asuma could understand that flower shops weren't open at 3 am. He considered finding Ino and ask her to open her shop but he didn't want a shoe (or a punch depending on her mood) thrown at his head so he thought otherwise.

The silence that filled the scene turned rather serious. The smile on his face had faded and he closed his eyes with concern; he was here for some help after all.

"Sensei, you once spoke to me about the value of many things such as the 'King'. The truth is, I'm unsure about anything. Friends and family are so important but they'll leave someday. People like Sasuke do come back in the end but there are some people who will never return...like you and dad," he furrowed his eyebrows even more to prevent tears in his eyes.

"I know that dreams are just a sequence of images that our mind creates and they can be bizarre. But these are just more than dreams because they feel so real. I can't escape them and they haunt me. I see you and dad in my dreams as lifeless souls. It gives me doubt about the will of fire and whether it's all worth fighting for. Many have perished and fallen for our lives, and among those were so many young lives with great capabilities like Neji. Is that what being a ninja is all about? To fight for a future you may not live in? Having to consistently face a situation of life and death? I don't think I can fight for a future where many of the people closest to me fall and are in pain."

 _I can't bare to hurt the people I care about around me anymore._

Shikamaru sighed from his silent thought. He was thinking about her again.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is...I don't know my will of fire. I don't know how to escape these dreams and I'm unsure about the future."

The dim fire had melted the candle and was moments away of transforming into a wisp of smoke.

"But, one thing I do know is that I do slightly feel better than before. Talking to you helps sensei. I guess I just need to take my time about these things."

He knelt down to light a second candle before gently resting it besides his father's gravestone. He sent his prayers and thoughts to the night sky where his father and teacher resided.

"Good night dad, Asuma sensei."

* * *

"Isn't that Temari-san?"

The other figure turned around and confirmed her question.

"Hey it is!" the two smiled towards the female who now noticed them. Her eyebrows elevated from the sight of a pink haired kunoichi with her closest friend, who seemed a little flustered and embarrassed as Temari approached her. It was the morning but that hadn't affected the livelihood of the village and the two girls. Sakura and Ino smiled outside the flower shop, owned by the blonde whose face was redder than ever. Last time she saw Temari she mistakenly assumed her to be in a romantic relationship with Shikamaru. But she knew it would happen sometime soon, she just got her hopes up too quickly. That was all there is to it! So hopefully Temari would understand and forgive her for a innocent mistake and not be annoyed with her. Right?

"You're both very happy this early in the morning."

"Well it is Summer and the day will only get better from here! Although work is tiring." Sakura let out a puff of air from her sigh.

"Running the flower shop **and** learning medical ninjutsu is tough but it really is worth it! Hey, what do you say we grab something to eat? They opened a new cafe around here!" Ino hoped that her request would be accepted to ease the tension she imagined between her and Temari. In reality, Temari wasn't bothered by Ino's mistake; there were more things to be concerned about.

Sakura placed her hand on her chin.  
"Hmmm I'm not too sure if I have enough time."

"Sakura it's 9 am! You worry too much and you always have more than enough time. Are you busy Temari?"

It was her day off and the kunoichi felt that a bit of walking and training was suitable to pass the time. Running into the Konoha kunoichis wasn't part of the plan but she didn't object.

"I can grab a bite to eat," Temari swear she felt a sigh of relief from the blonde beauty. That left Sakura to continue considering Ino's request until she agreed.

"I guess it's okay. If I have a mountain of work to do because of you Ino, I'm making you do all of it."

"Now now Sakura you know you wouldn't do that to me, you'd feel too guilty!" Ino saw the slight annoyance on her friend's face, creating a chuckle from herself and Temari.

Few footsteps later, the three had entered a small but homely cafe. Green coated walls surrounded them, with paintings of the most well known ninjas in Konoha history. They sat along the wall with a mahogany table neatly presenting the handwritten menu. Sakura and Ino sat alongside each other and opposite the Suna kunoichi who felt her stomach lowly growl. She deemed a red apple to be enough for breakfast before she left the apartment. Despite not hearing Shikamaru come home, the slightly open door in his room indicated his presence. She didn't want to disturb him as he peacefully slept and wanted to greet the Summer air as soon as possible.

A young waitress took their orders and the three kunoichis began to catch up. It was suddenly interesting to see that Temari had never properly spoke to the two before. She didn't think much of them all the way back during the Chuunin exams, but greatly respected their strength and efforts in the war. She came across Ino more often than Sakura because she was Shikamaru's teammate but only ever exchanged several words, sometimes none at all.

"So what brings you here Temari-san? I thought the Shinobi Union meeting ended a while ago?"

"Ah I was requested by the Hokage for a long term mission. I doubt I'll be leaving here for a bit so you'll see me around quite a bit."

"Really? What sort of mission is it?"

"It's complicated to explain."

Temari ignored the puzzled expressions of their faces.

"I see. Wait, where are you staying? I'll let you in on a secret: the inns here are so expensive you're better off renting a place instead." Sakura whispered as she eyed her surroundings. She didn't want to accidentally offend a customer who happened to have owned an inn or something.

Her throat became dry from her sudden gulp.

"Oh er it's okay I'm staying someplace else."

"Where?" Ino began to suspect that she knew the answer but needed the confirmation first. That didn't stop her eyes from sparking and her face of excitement.

"Er I um just a...er friend's hous-"

"And is that friend perhaps Shikamaru?"

A subtle blush invaded Temari's cheeks and her stuttering words gave away the answer.

"Per- ha..ps um wait!I heard about you two starting a new hospital?" Temari began to feel nervous for some reason. She just hoped that her sudden distraction was good enough to change the topic.

The two gleamed with brightened cheeks as they spoke in alternating sentences, the distraction was a success.

"Oh my goodness you heard about that?! Hear that Sakura?! People already know about it!"

"I'm right here Ino of course I just heard her!" the pink haired woman felt slightly offended by her friend's words.

"We're so excited to open it soon so all we need to do is find more medical ninjas and people who are willing to volunteer every now and then."

"Apart from that we're essentially complete! It's a hospital more specific for mental health but still treats patients who are physically ill. You can't imagine the amount of late night reading we did on so many mental disorders. We had to test each other about it before we could teach other people and mental health is often overlooked here so we decided that we needed to help as many people as possible. Illness is also mental and physical you see and the war really did traumatise so many people...such as children." Sakura frowned upon that thought. To encounter and live through something so life scarring from such a young age was unfair and unforgivable. No one could just sit around and let them suffer when they could hold the key to their recovery.

The Konoha girls were so sincere and caring that Temari felt nothing more than respect for them. They both had an idea and took it to reality, ready to help save and recover countless lives. In the war they both fought for their lives whilst treating those who were hurt around them. Temari lacked the medical skills to help treat people and could only make up for it in her leadership and fearless fighting skills. It would be great to just change the life of one person. **O** **ne** was significant enough let alone hundreds or thousands.

"PTSD is so scary."

"What is that?" (1)

"It's post traumatic stress disorder. Ever since the war there's been a rise in the number of cases but hardly anyone knows about it. Plus the symptoms vary so much you have to analyse the patient really carefully to know whether they have it or not."

"How so?"

Their teas and food had arrived and each of them sipped their delicious beverage. Temari drunk her tea with closed eyes as she savoured the taste of mint.

"From what we read, patients may have flashbacks of the traumatic event or experience physical sensations like trembling or sweating and stuff. Others usually push people out of their lives or they have nightmares, lack of slee-" (2)

"Nightmares?" Temari's eyes opened immediately.

"Yeah! That's one of several symptoms."

"Tell me more about it," she set her drink down carefully.

"I...I don't know what to say. It didn't say much but I guess the lack of sleep is because patients feel stuck where the traumatic past is pulling them in one direction and the present is pulling them in another. I mean, imagine having your heart racing so fast and your breathing becoming so loud you become uncertain about everything. It's like they lose themselves and they no longer know who they really are and what's going on."

Temari's jaw tensed from holding back sorrow, guilt and pain. Her eyes avoided theirs. Could this be it? Even if he hadn't experienced all the symptoms, this was definitely a sign that something was wrong. The way how Ino explained it...it was horrible. It was likely that he was going through something like this and instead of caring for him, she argued with him and implied that she was foolish for trusting him. Her ignorance looked past the obvious and she forgot a basic act of kindness: to help him.

"And? Is there a cure?" her tone was silently desperate for a positive answer but the frown on their faces said otherwise.

"Temari-san...mental illnesses don't really have a cure. They're not like several physical injuries where time and drugs will lead to a cure because sometimes, no one ever becomes fully cured."

Her fingers curled into a tight and trembling fist.

"There must be something."

Sakura shook her head.  
"Some medical nins are in the process of developing drugs that'll improve the functioning of the mind, but I'm afraid there's nothing."

 _Fuck._

He needed that cure. It hurt to see him this way and couldn't bear with the fact that it could get worse from here. Oh please let there be something. Let Kami hear her words and grant him a cure. The one thing he deserved was a healthy mind and if she could swap her mind with his, she would.

Ino noticed Temari's eyes trail off towards a deep and sad thought so she lightened the mood.

"Hey now Sakura that's not entirely true. For many of these illnesses if you recognise the symptoms early you can help them return to normal functioning quicker than if you noticed the symptoms a lot later. Maybe anything that helps you feel more in control of your emotions would help, like meditation! Or just talking to someone and letting them know that you're there for them would be a good idea! Not every cure has to involve medicine and bandages, sometimes talking is the best thing." she smiled towards the Sand kunoichi. There was no doubt that Sakura and Ino knew that someone important to Temari was suffering PTSD but they wouldn't pry into her business and ask who. For one thing that was good was that they educated one person on such a unfamiliar topic and already, that person had noticed the signs of PTSD and demanded for anything that would help them.

If Kami was in the form of a blonde Konoha ninja, that was it. Her prayers had been heard.

"I hope that helped a bit."

"No that was...perfect," for once her heart breathed back to life.

"It'll work out Temari-san. I'm sure of it."

"But for now, let's finally eat!" Ino smiled at her food.

Sakura looked at the time and saw that half an hour already passed.  
"I'm going to be late to work because of you Ino-pig," a dark aura beamed from her.

"You better watch your mouth forehead." a darker aura hit back.

The ninja opposite the two chuckled and ignored the slightly scary ambience from the Konoha girls' bickering.

* * *

A figure lied down on the roof and looked at the floating white clouds. In all honesty she didn't see the big deal about it but wanted to understand it from his perspective. Although she couldn't deny that the weather and climate here was amazing and very different from her home. Clouds were a rare sight in Sunagokure and she never felt the rain unless she left her village. If there was something she already learnt from sitting on the roof, it was the beauty of weather. He was fond of clouds but she was intrigued by what descended **from** them.

So in a way they both found clouds interesting.

"Strange to see you here." Temari turned towards the source of the voice.

"I agree but I wanted to see what the fuss was all about."

"Fuss?"

"You always look at the clouds yet other people typically don't. I wanted to see why for myself."

The figure standing besides her shrugged and lied down to mimic her position. Hands behind his head, he bent his left knee slightly towards him.

 _What a weird woman._

Tension from their previous conversation hadn't accompanied them as they both cloud gazed. The humid air caused a complaint or two to emerge from the pair but nevertheless they enjoyed the climate. It was significantly hotter in Suna but that hadn't meant Konoha couldn't occasionally reach the same high temperatures.

"Erm about yesterday," the comfortable silence was broken from Shikamaru.

"Don't worry about it I forgive you."

"Hm? Who said I was going to apologise?"

"You. Otherwise you wouldn't have brought it up nor spoke to me when you got up here."

His sigh of defeat made her laugh, he disliked it when she saw right through him.

"Tch."

"I'm sorry too."

The male hadn't expected her words and broke his gaze from the sky to look towards her.

"You were right. I shouldn't pry into your business like that. So don't ever feel inclined to say anything until you're ready and comfortable." She looked back at him with a grin before her eyes returned to look at the azure sky. His tired but shocked pupils slowly relaxed and the corners of his lips curled upwards, a faint blush burning his cheeks. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her but rather how or when. However to hear that she wanted him to take his time eliminated the stress in his stomach and soothed his body, he could finally feel the flow of energy in him. And her grin, her mesmerising grin. That really made his heart skip several beats, it was a wonder how he was still alive.

"Hey I think you should be looking at the clouds, not me." Her tease resulted in several stutters from the shadow boy and she could only laugh loudly. Cheeks now brighter than ever, Shikamaru pouted and followed her suggestion.

"Such a weird woman."

"Say something?"

"N-No ma'am."

Softer shades of blue smoothly enveloped the sky with a touch of orange. They continued to look up and converse with each other, the occasional pointing towards clouds that particularly looked like a face or an object. At one point, Temari pointed at a somewhat big, spiky cloud and joked that it looked like Naruto. The male besides her laughed for quite a bit for her words were very accurate. The moment between the two was delightful and they couldn't have thought of a better way to spend the afternoon.

"It's almost the evening."

"Yeah. The clouds begin to disappear at this point."

"That's a shame, this is quite enjoyable."

"You can't do this often in Suna I bet?"

"No not really. Even if I could there's always the sandstorms and they block your view of everything. If you're not careful enough you're bound to become lost."

"That sounds like a drag."

"It is." Temari stretched her arms and back before she gently stood up and walked towards the edge of the roof.

"So much time had passed that I forgot to go training. I take it you're still going to stay here?"

Shikamaru rotated his head towards the kunoichi.

"Yeah. Try not pass out in the heat."

"You too." The last thing he saw was a smile before she jumped off and made her way towards the training ground. From the roof, he could see the figure with four pigtails walking towards the greenery of Konoha. The descending sun shone upon her now golden hair and he stared until she disappeared into the distance.

For once, other than the sky and the clouds, he finally found something else that was beautiful to look at.

* * *

A breathless figure cursed as she climbed up the stairs towards his apartment. To make up for not training earlier in the day, she trained way too hard instead. Her bones twitched for every step she took. Rather than being greeted with accomplishment and somewhat 'good' pain after training, she winced and swore that she could taste blood in the back of her throat. It was a miracle she was able to reach to her room before placing her tessen aside and collapsing on the bed. But now she felt sticky, dirty and uncomfortable.

 _Urgh I need to shower._

It took quite a lot of mental and physical strength for her to leave the comfortable bed and stand up straight. Grabbing random items of clothing, she hissed from the pain in her head as she took out her hair bands. The warm water washed away the pain from her body and she felt her soul replenishing with energy. The wonders and magic of water were incredible she thought.  
Changing into her new and clean clothes, she dried her free flowing hair with a towel and walked towards the kitchen. Her meal for the entire day only consisted of tea and a apple. It was very alarming and how she hardly ate for the day was beyond her. Perhaps she can make a little something.

As she walked behind the kitchen counter, she heard the door open.

"Temari?"

"In here. I was going to make something if you don't mind?"

The footsteps were becoming louder and louder.

"Yeah that's fine."

"Would you like anything?"

"I'll just have whatever you're h-"  
The man with hands in his pockets and rounded shoulders choked upon the sight of her when he entered the room. She was on her tip toes to reach two bowls from the kitchen shelf, resulting in her more than see through white shirt to lift upwards and reveal her toned abdomen. Thin streaks of her wet hair also stuck to her face and the side of her neck, a ravishing look that was unintentional and unexpected from the Suna kunoichi. He was 100% certain she hadn't noticed how sensational she currently looked because her mind was preoccupied with food instead.

Temari's right eyebrow raised. He had been staring at her for quite a long time with a ruby blush and a small sweat drop gliding down his forehead.

"What?"

"H-Having. I'll have whatever you have."

The female placed the two bowls on the counter before crossing her arms.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing!"

"Spill it."

"Th-ere's nothing! What did you want to eat?"

"Huh? Oh I'm unsure. Maybe soba?" her attention towards the boy disappeared when she opened the fridge and leaned over to open the freezer. Food was always a good distraction. At this point, he had more than a good view of her mini black shorts that accentuated the curve of her behind. And now he was dying and his blush had spread to every part of his face. The colour of his face matched Hinata's whenever she looked at Naruto.

"You don't seem to have any left. I can g- seriously what's wrong with you, do you have a fever?" Her right hand rested on her hip when she turned around to see the tomato faced shadow boy. She breathed a sigh and shook her head.

"You must have stayed up on the roof for too long. Just sit down and relax for a bit. I'll go get you some medicine and soba from the shop nearby."

"I-I'm really not il- wait shop?"

Temari had already stood by the entrance of the room when he snapped back into reality.

"Yeah. The shop that's a minute from here? Did you not know that? Wow you're quite peculiar."

Her figure disappeared behind the walls and he was perplexed by the situation. Then he blinked and realised everything. In response, he speed walked up to her with urgency and a crazy pulse.

"Wait wait aren't you going to bring a coat it's cold?!"

 _Is he serious? Weren't we outside for hours complaining about the heat?_

"Shikamaru it's the evening so it'll still be quite humid."

 _How do you not see this Temari?!_

"Yeah but the evening gets cold really quickly!"

 _Why is he acting so weird what's wrong with him?_

"I'll only be outside for several minutes."

 _And you'll be stared down by way too many people, fuck that!_

Before she could leave he managed to overtake her and block the entrance to the outside with his arms spread out to cover the door. This was uncharacteristic of him yet he he hadn't stopped his body from taking control. Another sweat drop formed on his head and he desperately attempted to ignore his parched throat.

"I-It's okay **I'll** go! Th-the medicine here is way too confusing and it's different from Sunagokure so you won't understand what medicine I need." _I'm not even ill why is this so complicated?_ "I know what to get for myself and I'll just buy anything else you want okay?"

A pair of teal eyes suspiciously stared at his jet black eyes.

"Why are you acting unusual Shikamaru? It's just a shop. You really should lie down."

"Hey wait no that's what I've been doing all day but you actually trained! **You** should relax."

"You lied down all day and look what good that did to you, you're acting weird and talking nonsense. Honestly it's fine I'll go." Her fingers reached for the door handle but without second thought, his hand grabbed her wrist and the other hand rested on her shoulder. The air surrounding them felt a mix of emotions. One pair of eyes shook with surprise and uncertainty whereas the other stared with worry and seriousness. The protective nature of Shikamaru emerged as his face begged for her not to go. It was funny how silly the situation was. All this drama and worry over a shop...yet it irked him so much. Him along with his friends quite frankly hated the idea of the women they cared about being stared down by others. Given how stunning Temari was and how she wasn't aware of it, she would definitely catch unwanted attention. She wasn't an object anyone could look at or want to use, she was a human being with great capabilities and a loving heart.

She was a human who also tensed under his hold and began to shake with fury.

"O-oi what are you doing?!"

"You can't go out!"

"What do you mean I can't go out, are you restricting me?" the tone of her voice began to turn very dangerous.

"No I-"

"Do you want to do this the easy way or hard way?"

"No wait just listen!"

"What?!"

"Look you can't..." he trailed off as they continued to stare at each other's eyes, moments of time passing by until he saw that her pupils stopped shaking and her body relaxed under his grip. His heart threatened to break through his chest but he knew she felt the same, for the pulse on her wrist became stronger and faster by the second. He closed his mouth to form a straight line and the hand on her shoulder slowly trailed down her bare arm to ghost over her fingertips. The fingers that escaped his grip rested on the palm of his hand, their faces pulled closer and closer to each other. The gap between the two was now microscopic but something felt off.

He didn't feel right.

What was this? She was a close friend and he couldn't do that to her could he? Did she want this? What did this mean? H-How did he feel about **her**?

Second thoughts and fear clouded his judgement all before he cursed himself for pulling himself backwards.

He can't, not like this.

Her slightly opened mouth closed shut and her eyebrows furrowed in worry. If anything, she was more confused than he was.

Did she feel disappointed? In all honesty, yes.

Why? She didn't know.

What happened? Was it something she did? Maybe he didn't feel that way about her? Even though she had no idea on what she thought of him aside from a friend?

The two mirrored each other's faintly saddened faces, the light of passion in their eyes darkening. However his hands still remained where they were as a reminder that this was all real. She hadn't said 'wake up' like he was expecting; if anything that just made it worse. He really wanted to kiss her but couldn't unless he knew she was okay with it. Plus in a situation like this, he doubted that it was somewhat appropriate.

If only he knew that this was what she wanted as well, and it was his imaginary doubts that stopped him.

"Your shirt is kinda see through." He managed to finally say with eyes towards the ground. The confidence he had to hold her and look at her faded with every passing moment.

She blinked.

"Eh?"

She blinked again.

She looked down at her shirt.

She looked up.

"Ah."

Eyebrows relaxed, hands retreated back to her sides, her eyes also hurriedly looked away from his. Temari speedily walked to her room and slammed the door. Shikamaru could hear her rummaging through several clothes, hearing a 'no that's see through', 'too much' or a 'that's way too short' every so often. He felt like a statue as his hands were still poised in the same place where hers were. It was only when the door opened he could feel himself move and saw a female figure wearing shorts that rested slightly beneath her knees and a loose black t-shirt.

"Er I-I think that's okay now...right?"

"R-right yeah."

Temari had never blushed this badly before, let alone in front of anyone and in front of Shikamaru of all people. This would go down in history as a very embarrassing moment and he'd somehow tease her about it one day. Although she'd retaliate by hitting his head with her tessen so he'd never mention it.

"So you're not ill huh?"

Throughout this awkward moment, he mustered the courage the chuckle.

"Afraid not."

And yet, she managed to chuckle back.

"I'll go now. Unless you'd like to come with?"

Just like that, everything was back to 'normal'. Of course the two would think of this situation in the back of their minds and wonder what on earth happened for quite some time. But for now, Shikamaru would turn to open the door and hold it for her until they both proceeded with their mini journey to the shop.

"How troublesome," she smiled at him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ngl I wanted to publish this ASAP so don't be surprised if there's hella mistakes  
Sorry for taking so long, I've only realised that A-levels aren't something you can cram so I'll be slow with updates (I'll try to be hella fast)

Thank you all for reading it means so much x

(1) Naruto is actually based in a old period of Japan and obviously way back then, mental health was misunderstood or hardly anyone knew about it. So in this story, I'm basically writing it as if people aren't that aware of mental illnesses (such as PTSD, schizophrenia for instance) hence why Temari wasn't so sure as to what it was.

(2) I took the symptoms of PTSD off the UK charity 'mind' website as reference. I'm aware that this is quite a sensitive topic so I tried to write this as correctly as possible so please point out any mistakes I have made, it's honestly accidental and I don't want to offend anyone.


	9. 9

It seemed weirder somehow, the change in atmosphere in his secluded, little brick box. He was no longer surprised to see himself here but would be when he'd inevitably see the sight of his late teacher; he hadn't become desensitised to its effects. Even after several days without his nightmares, that particular image of death still made his stomach churn and throat dry up. However there was a slight change to this particular dream. Of course, the imagery was still annoyingly the same and the dim light bulb would still dawn above him in this peculiar dreamworld. But of the senses that had felt a change, it was his touch.

The walls. Two still remained the same but the rest? It felt... warmer.

The first wall of bricks had smelt and turned into ash for every touch and the second had a smooth texture. On the other hand he expected to see a frost of air surrounding the third and fourth wall, with even the most slightest touch to be painful and sharp. Instead it had radiated warmth, the familiar type where he finally felt the flow of energy inside him after the end of the war. His feelings of surprise by this peculiar change were overshadowed by the familiarity of that moment, where he was able breathe and know that peace had been achieved. The war had took innocent souls as a price for this long awaited peace, but throughout all the conflict in his heart, he knew that war would inevitably claim some lives. Rather than dwell on the suffering of the dead, he placed his hand on the wall and forehead on the wall. To feel comfortable by the warmth of a wall was indeed strange, but it was as if someone had been by his side, expressing their love for him from the other side.

"Hey...Shikamaru?"

A beautifully soft voice caught his attention. As always, he couldn't recognise the voice unless they spoke once more. He hadn't bothered to question who it was nor think of what would happen next. It sucked, but he awaited for it. He just wanted that image of death to go by quickly, before his body turned numb and his breathing stopped.

"It's okay, you can wake up now."

* * *

For the first time in what seemed like months, the young male opened his eyes and breathed back into the real world. Rather than sitting up with bullets of sweat, shaking in the early hours of the morning, he comfortably remained lied down on his bed with the rising sun giving a hint of light into his room. He felt unusual and slightly empty without the heavy weight of anxiety or fear in his chest, and was unsure whether he had missed that feeling or not. Of course, many would prefer the absence of these feelings but considering how they accompanied him for a while, he wasn't confident about the other feelings that lurked in his mind and soul.

Luckily the crave for darkness in his chest disappeared by a loud noise in the following room.

"Huh?"  
What was that?

He heard it again.

Then he smiled. His grin matched that of a child's.

It was a sneeze. Seemed like someone had hay fever.

Lifting himself up, he proceeded to wash himself and change in his work clothes before walking into the living room and grabbing a small bite of anything he could see. Afterwards, the clock had struck to half past 7 and then came the figure of a woman in her traditional kimono attire and four pigtails with a rather noticeable difference: her red nose.

"What are you looking at?"

"Your nose." He said, bluntly.

"Wrong answer." She eyed him venomously as she grabbed an apple and collapsed onto the nearest chair with a sigh. Her nose was unusually bright and almost looked painful rather than irritating. One could assume she itched her nose with such brutal force it perhaps bled a little.

"Looks like you have hay fever."

"I don't have anythi-" a sneeze interrupted her.

He could only smile at her. "Relax, it's normal to have it here during the Summer anyway."

"Shikamaru," her eyes stared through his soul, "I do **not** have hay fever." She spat with even bigger, deadly eyes. Back at home, heat strokes were a deadlier threat than some stupid, sneezing thing like hay fever. Heat strokes crept up on an individual eerily and slowly, taking control of their energy and poisoning the body with fatigue and pain. Then, their weakened legs would collapse to the ground, leaving them to melt underneath the sun. Temari was a survivor of such deadly threats and encountered them very regularly. So if anyone were to know that she was suffering more in the hands of this harmless sneezing disease than the very epitome of death in the form of heat, she would hit you with her tessen. Hard.

The shadow boy leaned backwards in his chair in hopes of avoiding her dangerous aura. He thought he was used to her but on mornings such as these, when he saw her getting upset over her cute, red, blocked nose and itchy eyes, perhaps it was easier to step back a bit; one could never calm a caged animal. Seeing her sigh, she finished her apple before she walked over to her room.

"I think I'll lie down for a minute." The door closed but not without a sound of a sneeze, followed by a frustrated groan. Who would have known Temari's Achilles's heel was the mysterious hay fever?

Oh Kami, he would have to spend the day with her.

Now that they'd be assigned another mission (possibly together again) or complete another round of paperwork, her sneezing would be distracting and her frustrations over her hay fever would prove to be very troublesome. Wasn't there a easier way to go through the day? The morning had already confused him with his somewhat peaceful dream and her torturous eyes, the day would only be more hectic from here.

With that in mind, he headed towards the bathroom and opened a draw. Rummaging through the contents, he retrieved a small pot of cream and read the contents carefully. Oh this was it! Great!

Now came the hard part.

Shikamaru stood behind her door and called for her.

"What is it?" She growled. Thank goodness he couldn't see her face scowl at him, imagining it made his blood grow cold.

"I think this would help with your hay- erm sneezing?" He didn't exactly say the taboo word 'hay fever' so she couldn't be angry at that, right?

The door opened slightly and the top half of her face peeped into his view, the rest covered by the door. She had to make sure he couldn't see her now burning, red nose.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Her stubborn nature was more than just inconvenient sometimes.

"Look," he opened the pot, "it's this sorta cream where if you place it above your lip, you can breathe more easily."

He noticed her hide herself behind the door even more.

"I really don't need that, thanks." Another one of her sneezes was a counter argument.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, all whilst she rubbed her eye.

"Yes I'm fine."

Sigh.

"Look just try it."

"I'll pass."

He raised the pot.

"It's harmless."

"I said no."

"You just sneezed, woman."

"No means no Nara!"

Well shit, he really didn't want it to come down to this. It was a plan he thought of in the back of his mind but didn't think it would have to go that far. But then again, this was Temari he was thinking about.

Straightening his back and letting out a final sigh, he hoped he wouldn't be a dead man afterwards.

"If you can, try not to kill me."

This unusual statement caused her to open the door even more, with the sun from the window in her room now in his view.

"What are y-" she felt herself froze and unable to move even with extraordinary strength. Her eyes looked towards the ground and found that his shadow had connected with hers. Despite the bad timing, she couldn't help but notice how his ninjutsu had greatly improved. Heck it was even challenging to try to swear at him as his shadow had completely paralysed the muscles in her body, only allowing her eyes to express her fury. For once, he could relax a bit because she couldn't do anything **for now**. However knowing his luck, he expected the sun to disappear from the window and his shadow to disappear, followed by a punch in the face.

But **for now** , he was okay.

He grabbed a thin coat of cream after he dipped his index finger into the pot. His ninjutsu had now developed so that he could freeze the body of another whilst freely moving his own even though he rarely found a use for such technique; today was that day.

"Here." His unbothered eyes avoided hers as he carefully rubbed the thin layer above her top lip. As quickly as he wanted to get this over with, he couldn't help but look at her lips and cute button nose. It was something about her features that was so... interesting, like the work of an artist. Her lips may have been thin but they could stretch to create such dazzling smiles and mischievous grins. Her soft, sun-kissed skin was compelling to look at, such colour was bound to be envied by the females of Konoha. The strange act of helping a close friend overcome their hay fever had turned intimate as his finger paused above her lip and the fire in her eyes died once more. What was he doing? Hasn't he finished doing... whatever he needed to do? It was humiliating having someone to rub ointment on you because you were too stubborn to admit that you were ill. What's more humiliating was having it done by someone who you no longer know how you feel towards. This was uncharted territory that had threatened her sanity and feelings, for she wouldn't know what to expect or what would come next.

Shikamaru finally let his finger leave her lips when he realised that Temari had become fully frozen under his shadow. The caged beast had calmed to a soft kitten.

"There. That wasn't so hard right?"

Never mind, the beast was back.

Sensing her chakra strengthening whilst his was weakening, he took it as an opportunity to walk backwards towards the entrance whilst she still couldn't move.

"See you later then!"  
The moment the door had slammed, Temari could feel her legs move by itself as she grabbed her tessen and kicked the door open.

"Don't you **dare** think that you can run away from me Shikamaru!"

Yikes. She really did remind him of his mother whenever she was upset.

* * *

Walking along the corridor, she held a folder with her new assignment with a sense of relief. She recalled the events of several days earlier after they returned from their mission.

 _"Shikamaru trusts you very much Temari. However this isn't a situation that can be solved very quickly. This will take more time than we believe and as a friend, you must see it through to the end with him."_

 _She felt like a child being scolded for not seeing something so utterly simple yet important. It was true that she had to be there for him as long as possible, but that was diverse on a time scale. Surely she couldn't stay in Konoha for a long time whilst not returning to Sunagokure? Her home? Where her brothers were? Friends were important but so was family, and this had proven to become a bit of a burden for her._

 _So she decided to change that._

 _"Kakashi-san, I would like for you to give me a new mission."_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"I understand that you want the best for him and that you care for him. However I think we have both misunderstood on his part: he isn't a mission subject, he is human."_

 _The Hokage nodded._

 _"We shouldn't make it a mission to treat someone who we are worried for, that is something we should all do without anyone telling us so. When Gaara was taken by the Akatsuki, no one had forced me to go after him and find him along with Kankuro. We both voluntarily did that because that's what siblings do, and you would sacrifice anything for those who you care for. So I hope you understand our faults of referring to him as a target when he is the same as the rest of us."_

 _It dawned on both of them the truth of her words and their honest misunderstanding. They had never meant to see Shikamaru in that way but it was how they referred to him in their private conversations. Behind his mask, Kakashi's lips were straight and his eyes closed from guilt. The two still had to learn a lot about life, but this was a good starting point._

 _"I understand completely. However I don't seem to have any missions to give you. Some of them are so low of a rank, it's somewhat insulting to ask you to do it."_

 _"How about the Chuunin Exams?"_

 _"They're not set until next year."_

 _"Then maybe that's beneficial Kakashi-san. Let me plan for the next upcoming exams whilst I still represent Sunagokure for the Shinobi Union meetings. It won't take a short amount of time nor a very long time to plan for these exams, so take this as my new mission."_

 _For a moment, he thought it through. On the one hand, if he got these plans out of the way he would only have to sign several papers and attend the actual exams themselves. Another benefit would be that Temari was an organised woman who would ensure that the plans would occur without fail and without any danger posing to the students and the audience in the final round. Why was he even thinking it through, there was literally nothing wrong with the idea. Less paper work for him was always the best idea!_

 _"How long do you think you be here for?"_

 _"I would say at the very most, 10 months. I would have to gather intel on the nominated candidates for the exams including those outside of the villages, that is the most time consuming part of the process."_

 _A nod granted his approval of her new mission._

 _"Very well. By all means, you should inform your brothers."_

 _"I will. Thank you very much." She bowed and turned to leave the room until he called for her._

 _"I appreciate you saying that we shouldn't refer to him as a mission statement. It seems that you care for him deeply."_

 _Looking behind her, she managed to flash a smile._

 _"Well, someone has to stop him from being a crybaby."_

She was incredibly thankful. Both Kakashi and Temari saw their mistakes and immediately did what was right. What was even better was the letter in her hands from her brothers. After her meeting with the Hokage, she told her brothers about her new Chuunin Exam mission and that she intended to visit them very soon. She had missed them dearly and hoped for the very best for them. Of course, she'd purposely annoy the two as her way of showing love such as teasing Kankuro about his face paint. Despite how she was very far away from them, that hadn't stopped her from doing so when she sent her letter several days ago.

A figure walked up the stairs and faced her with his typical nonchalant expression.

"Is it safe for me to be here?"

Throughout their busy morning, Temari was unsuccessful in catching him but only **just**. Her hand was inches away from reaching the back of his coat but both had been stopped Kakashi standing by the entrance. He knew better than to ask what was going on, judging by the look of her upset face when he managed to narrowly escape from her. Now the two stood side by side, one ready to run away once more and the other smirking with confidence.

"Why? Are you scared of me?" Her smirk grew by the second.

"I'm more scared of that thing on your back," he pointed at the steel tessen that was glued to her back, "and how you could kill me with it."

She let out a slight chuckle before continuing.  
"Understandable. I feel fine now."

Confirming his safety, he walked besides her to his office.

"But pull another stunt like that again and this time I will catch you for sure." Her eyes were more threatening than her words.

"It got rid of your hay fever didn't it?" He pointed at her nose.

"I wasn't ill from the start."

"You're able to breathe more easily now and you no longer itch your eyes."

"It was a coincidence that happened anyway."

"So you admit th-"

"You talking back at me?" He almost froze at her question but sensed her small joke.

Nevertheless, he rose his hands to surrender and to avoid further conflict. "Alright alright I'll stop talking about it."

"There we go." Managing to smile, the two had sat by their desks and the female dropped her folder onto the table.

"Why the huge folder?"

"I'm preparing for the upcoming Chuunin Exams."

"That's not for another year."

As she began to explain, she opened the letter and attempted to read the alternating lines of clear and messy handwriting.  
"Kakashi-san has a lot on his plate and I'm here to make life easier for him. Many of the candidates that applied for these exams reside here or nearby, so it's easier for me to gather further information on them rather than travelling from home to here most of the time."

A shrug said that she had a point.  
"Sounds convenient."

She nodded, occasionally smiling at every line written by her brothers. Setting the letter back into the envelope, she carefully placed it aside to ensure that she wouldn't lose it.

"My brothers give their regards."

The shinobi looked up from his paperwork. Two seconds in and he was already relieved that his eyes hadn't dragged itself over such troublesome reports.  
"Huh? When did you write to them?"

"When we came back from Iwagakure."

He looked towards her, unsure if he should feel flattered or not. "I don't know why you wrote about me but I doubt I'd want to know what they said about me."

But her raised eyebrow immediately put his thoughts to rest.  
"I didn't write about you at all."

First slap across the face.

"Kankuro guessed I would run into you and threatened to 'poison you with his newly constructed puppets' if you decided to hurt me."

Second slap across the face.

"Gaara only wished the people here well so that is a blessing on your part." The sight of him turning blue entertained her, with an aura of fear developing around him. Poor guy. Kankuro was only protective as any other brother but she would assure him that even if Shikamaru were to hurt her, she'd hurt him before Kankuro could.

His puppets -simply put- creeped the living shit out of him. At the top of a list of the things that shook Shikamaru to his core, Temari and his mother were joint 1st, followed by a pissed off Ino and then Kankuro's puppets; the things beyond human nature completely terrified him.

 _Why does Kankuro dislike me when I've never talked to the guy? Just thinking about him scares me and hurts my head._

"Scary people run in your family."

"What did you say?"

"I mea- what is this?" a small leaflet containing an image of Konoha was covered by bold, bright texts and managed to divert his attention towards the kunoichi. She too, had the same leaflet hidden behind her enormous folder. Retrieving it, she scanned the writing.

"The Konoha summer festival. That's today?"

It was true that he hadn't noticed either. Although the atmosphere of Konoha did feel livelier with more tourists roaming the streets and bringing their cultures to a diversifying city. Flowers and banners began to decorate the city but he didn't manage to appreciate it completely in the morning when he was too busy running away from Temari.

"It looks like it." Setting the paper down, he grabbed a pen and finally began his work. "Well, I have too much to do so it's too bad that I can't go."

She detected the ever so slight hint of sarcasm in his last sentence. It was then a light bulb sparked in her mind.

"Oh really?" He caught her raising her eyebrow and he did not like where this was headed.

Ascending from her seat, she calmly walked over to side of his desk and gently placed her hand on top of the leaflet. From her angle, she could bestow devilish looks upon him and smirk knowing that it would creep him out. So she did.

Oh he **really** didn't like where this was headed.

"What are you doing?" He attempted to hide his fear with his trademark bored look.

"You're going."

This was the perfect chance from him to avoid a stressful environment. Rather than being stuck in an office doing work for an entire day, time would be better spent outside with those who made you happy and gave life meaning. Plus, she didn't want his 'condition' to become worse. So it was with this evil smirk of hers that masked her concern and aimed to get him outside as quickly as possible.

She knew he'd prefer staying indoors, but that was only because he wouldn't give himself a chance of enjoying the outside world.

"What?"

So she commenced a little plan in her mind. Her little strategies could hopefully outsmart such an intelligent male.

"You're going to complete your work as fast you possibly can, and then you're going to that festival."

He could feel his body move away from her slightly.

"Why?"

"Something tells me that you find these festivals annoying, 'troublesome'," she imitated him in a mocking tone, "but they're a time to be with friends and family. Why sit behind work you can easily complete in hours when you can meet with your teammates? Don't you miss them?"

That was the third slap across the face.

He knew better than to show his frustration when she was right. Of course he wanted to see them but he remembered them saying something about the festival days before he ran into Temari. To put it frankly, he did not want to be the fifth wheel whatsoever. Not the third wheel, **fifth**.

"I'm sure they'll be busy doing other things at this festival."

"Is that so?" She crossed her arms, unconvinced by his pathetic arguments. "Like what?"

"Like attending with their dates."

 _Oh._

That was the first slap across the face for Temari.

"You must have other friends you could attend with. You're not lonely are you?" Her teasing added a sense of normality to their conversation.

"I think they'll be preoccupied with similar plans. Besides, festivals like these are too much."

Changing tactics, she looked away from him and towards the window behind him. The weather was beautiful with its blue sky and the chirping of bluebirds were melodic. Already in the late morning, many had roamed the city streets and crowds formed over various stalls. Yukatas' of varying colours were stylishly worn, bringing colour to the area. It was unfortunate that his head was always turned away from such a lovely sight. It couldn't hurt for him to turn around every now and then just to relax and appreciate what he could see.

"I doubt that Shikamaru. In fact, I think many people would disagree." Following the direction of her eyes, he turned around to view the joyous atmosphere. It did look like such a lovely day for tourists and locals, with the shimmering sun in Konoha's favour.

He successfully hid a subtle smile from her.  
"I guess many people have come all the way here for this event."

The kunoichi folded her arms with a sense of triumph.  
"You've only just realised? Then it's settled. You should go and enjoy yourself, you can find someone along the way."

"What about you?" He turned to see her return to her desk, unaware of the smile she hid from him.

"I doubt this much work will be finished in a couple of hours. I'll stay here until I-"

"You have a year to complete your work. One day won't harm you either Temari."

Truth be told, she wasn't as interested in festivals as the ordinary teenager. Of course, she enjoyed the Summer atmosphere and the various scenes of entertainment tourists like her were bestowed upon. However, her childhood was not the same as any other child she had come across. She, along with Kankuro, didn't necessarily have it easy and therefore they missed opportunities to attend such dazzling and massive events. Over the years, its spark and pizzazz hadn't intrigued her enough and now here she was, admiring the beauty of events she never imagined she'd attend.

He could see the cloud of doubt behind her eyes so he spoke again.  
"You should come along."

Lifting her head, she turned towards him looking rather confused.  
"What, together?"

His little heart skipped a beat and he almost collapsed because of it.  
"If you don't have a problem with that."

"I don't." She replied rather too quickly for her liking. "Do you?" Why would she? Just two friends going to spend a more than nice day together.

"No." He responded faster than she did. Why would he?

Turning towards her paperwork, she flicked the first page and read over her assignment.

"Try and finish your work by 2pm, crybaby."

Hearing a "tch" leave his lips, her heart chuckled.

* * *

"There's still so much to do."

"Yeah. These things last all day." The evening sky cast a navy blue hue upon the two, who were secretly awed by the continued livelihood of the village. The demands of their work got to the best of them and before they knew it, the clock struck 8 in the evening.

 _"It's eight?!" Fuck, her plan was going down the drain already._

 _"Huh?" His tired eyes drooped towards the clock and hadn't realised why she was so upset._

 _She looked towards the crowd in the city from the window and the ongoing echoes of laughter and chatter indicated that the night wasn't over. In fact, it was far from it._

 _"Get up, we have a festival to attend." Before he could complain, her hand grabbed his wrist and they marched out the office._

Hearing him yawn earned a raised eyebrow from the kunoichi.

"How could you be so tired?"

"You didn't even let me finish my work," he looked straight ahead with rounded shoulders and hands in his pockets.

She scoffed. "You clearly didn't want to be here so you stalled time as much as you could. Turns out you bored yourself senseless."

"That's not entirely true," his eyes met hers, "I was waiting for you to get up and leave but you didn't realised the time."

Whenever Temari was focused on her work, she'd block all sense of time from the outside world. Most of the time, this was a blessing but today, it was a wretched curse.

"Wait," she turned towards him, "if you knew the time then why didn't you tell me?"

"You seemed busy. Besides this was your idea and not mine."

"It doesn't hurt to speak up." Tension lurked between the two.

"No but then again, I didn't want to go here at all."

Anger entered the scene. "That's because you neglect any chance of forming new memories and enjoying yourself."

"Why should I dive head first into those sorta things when I'm fine with the way things are?" He rolled his eyes.

"That's a big lie." The argument approached personal territory.

"If that's what you think." Once again, he was pushing her away.

Of course, being rude to each every now and then was their form of conversations; it separated them from every other ordinary pair. But this time, it didn't feel like such a joke anymore.

"You're a lazy ass, Shikamaru."  
They both knew he was lazy, but she really did start to think that he was irritating.

"At least I don't piss people off unlike you, Temari."

Her heartbeat began to roar in her ears. "Excuse me?"

"No need to get so worked up."

"Hmph. I'm not worked up at all." She spat, attempting to shrug off such a bizarre statement. The evening was already disastrous as it was, she lacked the energy to argue anymore.

"Good." He paid no mind to their increasing distance away from each other. "Then let's continue walking around."

Scoffing at his statement, the two walked in silence.

Why did she bother?

She dreamed of going home, back in Sunagokure. To have two separate responsibilities in two different villages turned into a mental challenge. It was piss taking, frustrating, and nothing sounded better than lashing out all her anger at the training ground. But she had to pull through for him, perhaps find something they could enjoy doing. He may have been an idiot, but he was **her** idiot. In all honesty, they both shared truth behind their words and they didn't want to hurt each other, not when things were becoming better. Plus, with his heavy state of mind she couldn't blame the back talk to become so venomous.

However, as they went past various stalls that offered activities that surely would have interested them both, they were too pissed off to notice it. The connotations of festivals were amusement, enjoyment, lights and happiness; the two thought that the connotations of festivals could go and fuck itself.

He hadn't anticipated that he'd feel like shit on one of the most happiest days of the year. On top of that, he hadn't anticipated that he'd feel like shit with a close friend of his.

'Friend'? Yes, 'friend' seemed like the correct word.

This feeling only reinforced her nonchalant attitude towards festivals. The absence of laughter and anticipation of excitement rendered her soul dry, even paperwork seemed like a better option. Although she knew this aura of awkwardness was her fault, she refused to admit it. Her outburst was unnecessary but necessary at the same time. He could have at least reminded her but knowing him, why would he? Surely she must know this by now if they were very close with each other.

'Close'? Yes, 'close' seemed like the correct word.

Therefore, she decided to make up for it without having to directly apologise. Temari was a stubborn woman, and an apology from her was as rare as it could get.

"Do you want to go to that stool over there?" She pointed towards any particular stall, too many people were crowding around it for her to realise what service it offered.

A shrug and a "yeah sure" was his blank answer. The situation wasn't getting any better.

Before they approached the crowd of customers, the silhouette of a young male pushed past the kunoichi with more force than necessary.

"Watch it punk." Her hiss captured his attention.

"Or what, Suna brat?"

"You're not worth my time."

"Guess you can't expect anything more from the civilian of a trashy village."

The pair froze and Temari turned the face the ignorant boy, her expression blank but her chakra glowing from her skin. Shikamaru felt the fingers in his pocket folding itself into a fist for many, many reasons. Any aura of awkwardness between him and Temari evaporated into thin air and he knew the situation was going to become ugly. On one hand, a fight in the middle of a festival would tamper with Konoha's reputation and would undoubtedly affect their local economy. On the other hand, festivals were overrated anyway and this would surely be a highlight of his day. Although, he knew the most important reason why he felt angry was because that brat insulted her culture, her tradition, her way of life. It was similar to someone insulting the will of fire; he couldn't imagine how he'd react to it but with Temari, she was unpredictable to many but predictable to him.

Seeing her tense shoulders elevate and pulsating veins emerging from her forehead and fists, it felt like eternity until she made her next move. All the resentment and hatred, all the darkness from that insult failed to strike her heart, failed to freeze her sea blue eyes. Kids like him needed disrespect to be smacked away from his face, and a good shouting or two. But this was not her village, and she had no right to intervene. More importantly, he was not worth it whatsoever. Kids with that sort of attitude would eventually be cursed by karma, so she found no need to waste her precious time on him. To fight back would put her in a lower position than him, it would put the village of Sunagokure itself in a lower position than him. Temari and her home would be worse than scum so she refused to stoop to a level unthinkable for a well respected jounin from a invincible village like her.

Turning away from the kid, she resumed to walk down the street, forgetting about the stall she suggested to approach in the first place.

"Go home kid, it's way too late for you to be out." She mimicked Shikamaru's typical body language: hands in her pockets with rounded shoulders. She wanted to be as relaxed as possible, and it turned out that Shikamaru's posture allowed breathing to work at its optimum level; this was very advantageous for the tense kunoichi.

He respected her calm response, knowing that she considered Konoha as a reason to not fight back. What was more amusing, he thought, was how she copied his posture with such ease and accuracy. Dots across the sky may have shined above her, but she was the real star in the festival. The stubborn, tough and cruel star shone the brightest of them all.

He guessed that perhaps, the connotations of festivals weren't so bad after all. Amusement? Yep, she was funny alright. Happiness? There was no mistaking it.

Ignoring the punk behind him who continued to scream insults, he caught up to the kunoichi besides him.

"You were right, festivals are too much." Temari admitted to Shikamaru.

"That's right, run away Temari of the Desert!" His screams were drowned out by the ruckus of the festival.

"It's not too late to change your mind." Shikamaru beamed at the punk with irritation. "There's a koi stall over there we could go to." His eyes pointed to the general direction of a empty stall, which was a shame considering how goldfish scooping was quite fun.

"Oh?" She was intrigued by his sudden change in attitude. "I thought you didn't want to be here. What changed **your** mind?"

"Nothing important. No one's there so let's go."

Smiling, she challenged him.  
"Get ready to get your ass kicked."

It was hard for him to not smile back, so he did. "Not everything has to be so competitive."

"That's just loser talk." Flashing her cheeky grin, their short yet pleasant mood was disrupted by the boy following them. His taunts and insults flowed through pairs of empty ears but Temari couldn't do anything about it. She would not let her honourable role as a representative of Sunagokure become tampered by a stranger, a child flawed from the lack of education.

Shikamaru, quite frankly, no longer gave a fuck.

Therefore, as they walked past a group of girls, his shadow extended to grab the kid by the ankle and trip him up to fall face first next to said group. It was every kid's worst nightmare come to life: embarrassing yourself in front someone you liked, and their friends.

Hearing the thud from his fall, Temari turned to see the red faced male cowering from the laughter of the female group. Although she felt slightly bad for the kid, that didn't stop her from cackling. They walked further away from the boy, yet the aura of humiliation was traceable from miles away. Before the jutsu disappeared, she noticed the trail of a shadow. Smirking, she realised that Shikamaru was the one behind the act. Who knew that he was the living embodiment of karma that evening?

"Uncharacteristic for someone like you." She saw his blank expression turn somewhat a little smug, he was proud of something quite evil.

"Yeah but I figured he could knock some sense into himself."

"By embarrassing him?" Temari still chuckled at the thought of the boy falling.

"That's something you'd do anyway." She laughed even more at his point, the two finally being able to enjoy their evening because of non-ethical reasons.

Indeed, this pair found various things entertaining that an ordinary pair wouldn't. But that was the main thing: they **weren't** ordinary. They were them, and no one could affect them otherwise.

Although, the kid who got up from his shameful state had a bit of a chance than most other people.

"Hey! It was you two! Come back here!"

Shikamaru sighed, "how troublesome."

The kid was inches away from throwing themselves at the two, until the pair turned into a logs and were nowhere to be seen. This left the kid to meet the ground again, face first, fooled by the tricks of the substitution technique. Frantically looking around his surroundings, he charged down the street in attempts to find them. Little did he know that the two leaned against the walls of an alleyway nearby him with their arms crossed, laughing at the boy's foolery.

"He still has a long way to go."

"Yeah. He'll learn soon enough."

"Hm not so soon. I'd say by the time he's in his mid twenties." Temari guessed.

"Early thirties." Shikamaru compromised.

"Late twenties."

"That's just sugarcoating 'late twenties'. You dislike to admit being wrong don't you?"

"Of course not," she teased and directly reinforced his point.

As per usual, he shrugged.  
"Should we get back to that stall?"

"Hm, you know what," her back left the wall of the alley and she turned to face him, "I don't think festivals are our thing. They're not meant to be."

He breathed out a chuckle. "I'm glad you think the same. But the evening is quite nice."

Her eyes darted upwards to look at the beauty of the stars. "It is. I'd rather just walk around."

"It's less troublesome this way," the two were thankful for the evening sky to hide their blushes whilst they walked side by side. Every so often, their fingers would brush against each others and they'd mumble a "oh" or "sorry" but they happily continued their conversations. They distanced themselves from the heart of Konoha and roamed around the outskirts of the village. Sharing a laugh or two, the soft wind tickled the fields they walked past and the moon beamed upon them; even nature smiled at the type of relationship Shikamaru and Temari had.

Approaching the end of a joyful evening, they returned home but found themselves caught up in a string of further conversations. With a cup of tea in their hands, they sat on the sofa in the living room and enjoyed each other's company for a longer period of time. The dim hue of the lamp provided a soft ambience above the pair, one of warmth and comfort. Overtime, their eyes became heavier and their attention towards each other became unfocused, distracted by the urge to sleep. But they really didn't want to, they preferred speaking to each other.

"You're not getting tired are you Nara? Am I that boring to you?" The corner of her lips moved upwards to create a tired yet teasing smirk.

"You wish woman. Your eyes are getting heavy, is your hay fever back?" He smirked back with his back against the arm of the sofa. That way, his body fully faced hers and he was less likely to become distracted by anything else. Therefore, he was less likely to sleep. Surely a good plan, right?

"Ha! 'Hay fever' you mock me." Temari copied Shikamaru's posture so she could focus less on the idea of sleep if he had her undivided attention. Unfortunately, as cunning as the pair were, they were still sleepy.

"That's the whole point Temari," the smirk shifted into a soft smile. She was too tired to realise that he joked around with her but who could blame her? The clock struck 4 am, yet the two were still awake despite work the next day - or rather - that morning.

"There's no point if we sleep now, we'd have to get up in a while anyway. Do you want to watch something?"

The kunoichi nodded and he switched channels to anything that was remotely interesting. They chose the news because they knew they wouldn't be watching it anyway; their counterparts were far more intriguing and the noise was just an attempt to keep them awake. However, as he leaned his head against the sofa and closed his eyes, there was silence.

"Hm? Why did you stop speaking?"

"I thought you wanted to sleep." There was subtle worry in her voice.

"No it's just my eyes hurt. Keep going, I'm listening."

"Are you sure?"

"I could do this all morning," he smiled.

She scoffed but chuckled at the same time, "it's okay Shikamaru. A crybaby needs his sleep."

He opened one eye. "When do you think you'll stop calling me that?"

Temari followed in his footsteps and closed both of her eyes, still interacting in the conversation. "Never."

"Pft, troublesome woman."

"You'll never stop calling me that either."

"It's only fair that I say that to you too." He closed his eye before he saw that she huffed a chuckle. Hm, she was cute.

Eventually, the noise from the television became louder than the pair but before they drifted into sleep, they noticed each other attempting to shift into comfortable sleeping positions.

"You should lie down." She suggested to him.

"But I'll take up the whole space, what will you do?"

"Go to my room." Ready to get up, she lacked the strength and care to push herself up and ghost towards her room.

"You can just stay," his mumbles lacked volume but she heard him very clearly.

"It's fine honestly."

In response, he gently held her hand and pulled her towards him. Landing besides him, their bodies sunk and their backs hit the seat of the sofa. Sighing in comfort, it wasn't as good as the bed but it did the job nicely. His hand still rested on hers but with tired confidence, her fingers intertwined with his and her head rested on his shoulder. Seconds later, he smoothly placed his head above hers and the grip on her fingers became tighter. She was surprisingly thankful for that kid they came across. If it weren't for him, they would've attended boring stalls and inevitably run into other couples who were way happier than they were. Instead, they got to see a kid fall, roam around the nature of Konoha and now begin to conform to their feelings as they lied together. Perhaps, they were just so tired they weren't thinking straight and this would only be a one time thing. Even if that was the case, it was the perfect end to a disastrous but entertaining evening.

"Good night."

"Night."

Finally, the two slept peacefully together with warmth in their hearts and cheeks.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay, my exams are coming up so it's likely that the next update will be in June/July/August (I'll try to write as much as I can now, polish up whilst procrastinating then publish them to y'all)

\- I understand that you guys wanted more dialogue between them so I hope this chapter will do it justice, and I know the development of their relationship is too slow for some people so I'M SORRY OK I'LL TRY TO SPEED THINGS UP WHILST KEEPING IT REALISTIC AT THE SAME TIME YGM?

\- Some parts of the chapter were obvs OOC for SORRY ABOUT THAT TOO

\- If you haven't checked it out already, I have another story called A Gangster's Sin. I'm also currently updating that story too so if you have the time, please check out that story too!

\- I'm planning on posting series of drabbles/one shots of various couples (I can take requests too if I have nothing against the pairing) so I'm excited about that (watch how I'll never update the drabbles either lmao sorry for my laziness)

Long updates aside, have a lovely day, please leave a review on anything I can improve on (I know my writing is rusty rn) and thank you for reading xx


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